Kim Jong Un made the comments Wednesday while touring North Korea’s nuclear submarine facilities.
Published December 25, 2025
During a tour of his country’s submarine production facility, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un denounced the new nuclear submarine agreement between the United States and South Korea, calling it a threat to the stability of the peninsula, according to North Korean state media.
Kim said the agreement between South Korea and the US was a “serious violation.” [Pyongyang’s] According to state news agency KCNA, it is a threat to national security, maritime sovereignty and national security that must be countered.
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According to the report, Kim said it is now urgent for North Korea to “further accelerate the modernization of its navy and the fundamental development of nuclear weapons.”
Kim made the remarks on Wednesday while touring a facility where North Korea is developing an “8,700-ton nuclear-powered strategic guided missile submarine.”
According to the Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean leader also on Wednesday oversaw the test launch of a new high-altitude, long-range anti-aircraft missile into the Sea of Japan (which the news agency dubbed “Korea’s East Sea”).
KCNA reported that the test was successful and the missile hit a simulated target at an altitude of 200 kilometers (124 miles).
The development came as the South Korean government announced it was pursuing a “unilateral agreement” with the United States to acquire nuclear submarine technology, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
US law prohibits the transfer of nuclear material for military use, but South Korea may receive a waiver from US President Donald Trump, the East Asian country’s national security adviser Wie Song-luck told the media after a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Mr Wie said Australia had a similar agreement with the US to build its own nuclear submarines, with talks expected to begin early next year.
Separately, on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin also sent New Year’s greetings to Kim, thanking him for continued military support for the war in Ukraine. Since 2024, North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine and parts of Russia that Ukrainian forces briefly occupied in counterattacks.
“The brave participation of Korean People’s Army soldiers in the battle to liberate the Kursk region from the occupiers, and the subsequent work of Korean engineers on Russian soil, clearly demonstrated the unyielding friendship and combative fraternity between Russia and North Korea,” KCNA reported.
According to KCNA, Putin also praised the success of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty signed between Moscow and North Korea in 2024 and said that in the future they hope to “strengthen relations of friendship and alliance in all aspects and conduct constructive cooperation in regional and international issues.”
