North Korea Revises Constitution to Require Retaliatory Nuclear Strike

North Korea has revised its constitution to require the military to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike if leader Kim Jong-un is assassinated or incapacitated by a foreign adversary. The constitutional change was adopted during the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly, which opened on March 22 in Pyongyang.

According to the revised Article 3 of the nuclear policy law, a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately if the command-and-control system over the state’s nuclear forces is placed in danger by hostile forces' attacks.

Experts believe that carrying out a similar operation in North Korea would be far more difficult than in Iran due to the country's isolation and strict security controls. Professor Andrei Lankov, a Russian-born professor of history and international relations at Kookmin University in Seoul, said that North Korea's main concern is likely to be satellite surveillance technology.

Meanwhile, North Korea is also preparing to deploy a new type of artillery system near its border with South Korea, according to state media reports released on Friday. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim recently visited a munitions factory to inspect production of a 'new-type 155-millimetre self-propelled gun-howitzer'.

The court will not be involved in this matter, but the United Nations Security Council is likely to discuss the developments in North Korea in the coming days. The US and South Korean governments have not yet officially responded to the revised constitution and the planned deployment of the new artillery system.