At a party meeting, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to quicken the nation's military buildup, according to state media on Tuesday, citing regional military modernization initiatives by the US and South Korea.
The two Koreas are still technically at war because their 1950–53 battle concluded in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, and Pyongyang is subject to many sets of sanctions over its nuclear program.According to a dispatch from the official Korean Central News Agency, "Comrade Kim Jong Un reaffirmed in his concluding speech the steadfast policy stand of our Party and state to beef up the national defense capabilities faster."According to KCNA, Kim gave the statement during a three-day party plenary meeting that concluded on Monday. During the conference, senior officials discussed policy objectives.
Kim was quoted as saying that "the US and the ROK are pushing forward with the ROK's possession of a nuclear submarine while getting evermore undisguised in their moves towards the reinforcement and modernization of armed forces in the region," referring to the South by its official initials.

Kim stated that the North's "steadfast stand" in the face of these developments was to step up efforts to "further expand and strengthen the powerful and absolutely reliable deterrent for self-defense."
According to KCNA, the plenary conference "unanimously recognised" that having a nuclear arsenal was "the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently cope with the unpredictable international military and political situation."
Since Kim and Trump's 2019 summit in Hanoi broke down over the extent of denuclearization and sanctions relief, Pyongyang has frequently proclaimed itself a "irreversible" nuclear power.

Yo Jong, Kim's influential sister, reiterated the regime's stance that it had no intention of giving up its nuclear arsenal when she stated earlier this month that the North's nuclear program was a "line of no retreat".
Kim advocated for "eliminating the centuries-old backwardness remaining in the coal industry," while the plenary conference declared its "full support for and approval of the plan to completely renovate coal-mining areas nationwide."