Kim Jong Un says North could ‘completely destroy’ South Korea in latest threat

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Thursday that his country could “completely destroy” South Korea if it feels threatened, escalating rhetoric while ruling out renewed talks.

Speaking at North Korea’s week-long Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, Kim labeled South Korea the “most hostile enemy” and said “the conciliatory attitude that South Korea’s current government advocates on the surface is clumsily deceptive and crude,” according to state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim said North Korea “can initiate arbitrary action” if South Korea engages in “obnoxious behavior” directed at his country, dismissing recent efforts by Seoul to improve relations.

“South Korea’s complete collapse cannot be ruled out,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

During the congress, Kim outlined sweeping five-year policy goals centered on expanding North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The country is believed to possess around 50 warheads and enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more, according to an estimate last year from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The North Korean leader said the country’s “international status has risen extraordinarily.”

“It is our party’s firm will to further expand and strengthen our national nuclear power, and thoroughly exercise its status as a nuclear state,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “We will focus on projects to increase the number of nuclear weapons and expand nuclear operational means.”

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was re-elected as general secretary during the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 22, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency via REUTERS )

Kim laid out plans for North Korea to develop more advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of underwater launches, along with artificial intelligence-driven weapons systems and unmanned drones, KCNA reported.

Kim, who met with President Donald Trump three times during Trump’s first term, signaled he may be open to future negotiations with Washington but placed responsibility squarely on the United States.

“Whether it’s peaceful coexistence or permanent confrontation, we are ready for either, and the choice is not ours to make,” he said.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attended an event to celebrate the New Year, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA via Reuters)

Kim said that if the U.S “withdraws its policy of confrontation” with North Korea and acknowledges the country’s “current status,” there would be “no reason why we cannot get along well with the U.S.”

Following the congress, Kim’s teenage daughter attended a military parade in Pyongyang on Wednesday, according to KCNA. Ju Ae, believed to be 13 or 14, was photographed standing beside her father and senior military leaders.

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Her appearance comes after South Korean media reported that Kim recently gave her a leadership role in the regime’s powerful “Missile Administration,” which oversees Pyongyang’s nuclear forces.

Digital’s Emma Bussey, along with Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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