Kim Jong Un issues 'merciless' nuclear warning amid Iran war — are the North Korean leader FOMO memes about to turn real?

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has vowed that his country is not stepping back from nuclear weapons. Not now, not later, not ever. In a speech that sounded less like routine policy and more like a warning, the North Korean leader declared that his country's nuclear status is "irreversible". No ambiguity, no room for negotiation. The statement came just a day after Kim was reappointed as head of the State Affairs Commission, the country’s top decision-making body and as memes on the North Korean leader's alleged FOMO over not being a part of the war between the US, Israel and Iran continue to flood the internet.

What did Kim Jong Un say?

According to state media reports published Tuesday (Mar 24), speaking at North Korea’s rubber-stamp legislature, Kim laid out what he called an "aggressive" push to strengthen the country’s nuclear arsenal. "We will continue to firmly consolidate our status as a nuclear-armed state as an irreversible course, while aggressively stepping up our struggle against hostile forces," he said.

He framed it as a constitutional duty. The country, he said, would continue to "expand and advance". He said that, "we will, in line with the mission entrusted by the Constitution of the Republic …., further expand and advance our self-defensive nuclear deterrent. Kim framed the expansion of Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities as "entirely justified".

At one point, Kim stressed that nuclear forces would be kept in a state of "precise readiness" to counter what he described as "strategic threats".

“Mercilessly”: Kim Jong Un's chilling warning to South Korea

In a lengthy address reported by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim touched on everything from defence and nuclear policy to the economy and ties with Washington and Seoul.

South Korea, in particular, came in for direct criticism. Kim described it as "the most hostile state" and said Pyongyang would deal with it "thoroughly". The warning did not stop there. Any move seen as an infringement, he said, would be met "mercilessly, without the slightest consideration or hesitation".