North Korea has reportedly amended its constitution to allow automatic nuclear retaliation if leader Kim Jong Un is assassinated or incapacitated during a foreign attack.
According to foreign media reports, the constitutional change formalizes a retaliatory doctrine aimed at ensuring North Korea’s nuclear weapons can still be launched even if the country’s top leadership is eliminated.
The amendment was reportedly approved during the first session of North Korea’s 15th Supreme People’s Assembly held in Pyongyang on March 22.
Details of the updated policy were later shared through a briefing by National Intelligence Service to senior South Korean officials.
Under the revised framework, Kim Jong Un remains the supreme commander of North Korea’s nuclear forces, while predefined launch procedures are designed to guarantee retaliation during extreme situations.
Reports claim the updated law states that if hostile forces disable or threaten North Korea’s nuclear command-and-control system, a nuclear strike must be launched automatically and immediately.
Analysts say the policy is intended to strengthen North Korea’s deterrence strategy by removing uncertainty about possible retaliation during conflict.
However, security experts warn that automatic launch systems may significantly increase escalation risks because they reduce human decision-making time during military crises.
The development has intensified international concerns over nuclear stability and geopolitical tensions in East Asia.
Discussions regarding the new law also spread rapidly on X (formerly Twitter), where users debated the dangers of automatic nuclear retaliation policies.
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