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

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

Speaking at the week-long ninth congress of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, Kim called 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 the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Kim said North Korea “may initiate arbitrary actions” if South Korea engages in “abhorrent behavior” against his country, rejecting Seoul’s recent efforts to improve relations.

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

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang on February 23, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency via REUTERS)

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

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

“Our party has the firm will to further expand and strengthen our national nuclear power and fully exercise its status as a nuclear state,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “We will focus on projects aimed at increasing the number of nuclear weapons and expanding nuclear operational capabilities.”

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

Kim outlined plans for North Korea to develop more advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of underwater launches, as well as artificial intelligence-based weapons systems and unmanned drones, KCNA reported.

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

“Whether it is peaceful coexistence or permanent confrontation, we are ready for either, and the choice is not ours,” 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 United States “withdrew its policy of confrontation” with North Korea and recognized the country’s “current status,” there would be “no reason why we cannot get along well with the United States.”

After 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 years old, was photographed standing alongside her father and senior military officials.

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

Emma Bussey of Fox News Digital, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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