TOKYO, September 9. /TASS/. North Korea has formally sealed its status of a nuclear power by adopting a new law, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday.
"Today we completed a historic mission, by legally sealing the policy of nuclear forces in full," North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said.
The newly adopted policy on North Korea’s nuclear forces specifies their structure and mission, as well as principles and conditions for their use.
North Korea, as a "responsible nuclear power," will not hand over nuclear weapons to other states, or share nuclear technology, equipment and materials with any other country, the document says.
"The nuclear forces of the DPRK shall obey the monolithic command of the president of the State Affairs of the DPRK," the document says. "The president of the State Affairs of the DPRK shall have all decisive powers concerning nuclear weapons."
In line with the law, the use of nuclear weapons is authorized under the following circumstances: a nuclear attack or imminence of such an attack, an attack on the country’s leadership including with the use of non-nuclear weapons, a military attack on strategically important facilities. A nuclear strike is also permitted in order to prevent expansion and protraction of a war or for taking the initiative in a military conflict.