Kim Jong-Un told a ruling party congress that the country would only use its nuclear weapons if its sovereignty came under threat.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un told a ruling party congress that the country would only use its nuclear weapons if its sovereignty came under threat from another nuclear power, state media said today.
"As a responsible nuclear weapons state, our republic will not use a nuclear weapon unless its sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes," Kim was quoted as telling the party gathering in Pyongyang on Saturday.
He also promised that Pyongyang would "faithfully fulfil" its non-proliferation obligations and push for global denuclearisation.
North Korea withdrew from the global Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003 -- the first signatory country to do so.
At the time of its first nuclear test in 2006, North Korea had said it would "never use nuclear weapons first", but has since made repeated threats of pre-emptive nuclear strikes against South Korea and the United States.