North Korea has updated its nuclear doctrine to require an automatic nuclear retaliation if its supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, is killed or incapacitated due to a foreign attack, according to reports.
The constitutional amendment was reportedly approved during the first session of the 15th Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang on March 22, according to The Telegraph. The changes were later briefed to senior officials in South Korea by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Thursday.
Under the revised framework, North Korea continues to place its nuclear forces under the direct command of Kim Jong Un, but the updated rules reportedly go further by spelling out in advance how nuclear retaliation would be carried out if the country’s top leadership is struck in an attack.
“If the command-and-control system over the state's nuclear forces is placed in danger by hostile forces' attacks ... a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately,” the updated Article 3 of North Korea's nuclear policy law states, as per report.
The revision in the nuclear doctrine comes months after top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and several senior advisers, were killed in US-Israeli military operations.
