Observers said the new law carried a message for the domestic audience- that the country must be self-reliant, unite against superpowers like the US and use its nuclear capability as a deterrent – as it is roiled by a deep economic crisis caused by the pandemic and sanctions imposed by several countries.īut there is also a message to the US: “We will not be the first to make any concessions. North Korea’s new nuclear law was passed on Thursday, a day before the country marked the 74th anniversary of its founding.Ĭhinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Kim on the occasion, reaffirming the historical friendship between the two countries and praising the Korean leader’s efforts on economic development and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea believed in the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons, which was key to its survival, Hoo noted.Īnd China’s priority here was “to sustain North Korea as a buffer state and support its regime to prevent a societal or regime collapse”, she said. North Korea may be able to ‘miniaturise’ nuclear weapons sooner than expected, analysts warn “If no third party offers a neutral platform for dialogue among the Korean peninsula stakeholders, we will see North Korea continue its military build-up and modernise its nuclear arsenal, which will become more threatening than ever, in addition to aligning closely with China and Russia for the long run,” she said. “For the coming five years, we will have a very challenging Korean peninsula scenario without open access into North Korea’s society and the regime’s high-ranking elites due to Covid-19 ,” said Hoo Chiew Ping, senior lecturer in international relations at the National University of Malaysia.

North Korea’s Kim threatens nuclear weapons amid tensions with US, South Korea While the law will not change the status quo in terms of regional security, the North Korean nuclear issue remains challenging and could still pose a threat, according to analysts. “We will continue to play an active role in promoting the political settlement of peninsula issues, from the overall interest of maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. Zhang said he also did not expect the US or the rest of the world to impose more sanctions or other countermeasures on Pyongyang over the new law.Įven if the US were to push for more sanctions at the UN, China would not support it, he said.īeijing has long supported the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula but has hesitated to push for more sanctions on Pyongyang alongside other world powers.Ĭhina said on Monday that its position on the Korean peninsula remained unchanged. “China’s position is that this would only increase tensions in the Korean peninsula.” “While it does prefer North Korea to eventually denuclearise, Beijing does not want to put additional pressure to force it to do so,” said Zhang Baohui, professor of international affairs at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US had no hostile intent and continued to seek diplomacy with North Korea, while the foreign ministry in Seoul said the move would only further strengthen its alliance with Washington.Ĭhina, a powerful neighbour and North Korea’s main ally and trade partner, was also likely to take a low-key approach, regional observers said.

However, the newly enshrined first-use policy attracted little more than standard rhetoric from neighbouring South Korea and the US, both party to years of Korean peninsula denuclearisation talks that have stalled since 2019 over Pyongyang’s concessions. North Korea passes law to use nuclear weapons at first strike This comes after Pyongyang passed a new law outlining scenarios for pre-emptive nuclear strikes if attacked by “hostile forces”, declaring it would not abandon its nuclear weapons programme.Įarlier, addressing the need to maintain a nuclear arsenal, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused the US – as the No 1 nuclear power and the first-ever user of atomic weapons – of not just trying to denuclearise the country, but to overthrow his government as well.ĭo you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. China’s reaction to a new North Korean law sanctioning the launch of preventive nuclear strikes will be muted, analysts said, despite Beijing’s support for denuclearisation of the Korea peninsula.

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