Kim Says US Must Accept North Korea as Nuclear Power

3 min readFeb 26, 2026 02:40 PM North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday stated his intention to expand and strenghten the country’s nuclear weapons program.
Kim’s comments were made at a five-yearly party congress held in Pyongyang, where he was presiding over a nighttime military parade, accompanied his daughter, widely believed to be named Ju Ae.
Kim called on the United States to respect his country’s nuclear power. He said that the two nations could “get along” only if the US accepts that North Korea’s nuclear weapons are here to stay.
“If Washington respects our present [nuclear] position as stipulated in the Constitution… and withdraws its hostile policy… there is no reason why we cannot get along well with the United States,” Kim said at the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, according to state media outlet KCNA, BBC reported.
He added that the future state of US-North Korea relations “depends entirely on the US attitude.”“Whether it’s peaceful coexence or permanent confrontation, we are ready for either, and the choice is not ours to make.”
His statement come at a time when US President Donald Trump is set to visit China in April, leaving the door open for negotiations with US.
‘Most hostile entity’
Kim also addressed its relation with South Korea, calling the neibhouring nation its “most hostile entitiy.”Story continues below this ad
He said that it would “permanently exclude Seoul from the category of compatriots”, adding that “as long as South Korea cannot escape the geopolitical conditions of having a border with us, the only way to live safely is to give up everything related to us and leave us alone”.
As per BBC, one analyst told AFP that Pyongyang’s latest remarks signalled “an intention to pursue relations with the US independently, without going through South Korea.”
In this photo provided the North Korean government, a soldier who was dispatched to Russia carries a Russian flag during a parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo)
At his parade, about 14,000 troops, according to state media, CNN reported. However, unlike in his usual parades, most military arsenal was missing. There was no procession of tanks, no towering intercontinental ballic missiles, no hypersonix glide vehicles, and no transporter-erector-launchers.
‘Focused on expanding nations nuclear power’
In his closing remarks, Kim reaffirmed his stance on expanding the nation’s nuclear asenal. Calling it the party’s “firm will”, he spoke about strengthening national nuclear power and increasing both the number of weapons and the means to deploy them.Story continues below this ad
“We will focus on projects to increase the number of nuclear weapons and expand nuclear operational means,” reported BBC.
Once again, the daughter of the north Korean leader was spotted his side at the parade. Speculations soar about her potential grooming as a sucessor.
(With inputs from CNN, BBC)