Kim Jong Un Teases New ‘Secret Weapons’ To Deter US

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is touting that his country possesses “secret weapons” developed domestically to bolster deterrence against the US and its allies, also at a moment Pyongyang is seeking rapid expansion of its strategic arsenal.

Kim said his country must “continuously stockpile even more formidable forces capable of repelling all military threats” before boasting that North Korea has “acquired new secret weapons and has achieved a significant number of research achievements in defense science.”

While it is possible that this new undisclosed capability is the result of greater access to Russian defense technology, his words suggested it’s due mainly to domestic achievements.

He said the US and its allies have been staging “provocative actions that further escalate tensions” and disregarding North Korea’s security concerns – a likely reference to recent joint drills carried out on the peninsula on the other side of the border, and in regional waters.

Kim additionally declared Pyongyang has “successfully built a strategic axis for safeguarding maritime sovereignty by producing destroyers capable of performing various maritime military missions.”

Just last week South Korea hosted major joint military exercises involving the United States and Japan, dubbed Freedom Edge, described as being focused on preparing for nuclear conflict scenarios.

The drills naturally evoked the wrath of North Korea, which issued a sharp condemnation while warning of escalating tensions and vowing a strong response. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said this is focused on “countering North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and safeguarding peace and stability in the region.”

Pak Jong Chon, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, responded by saying “The US and its allies are gradually undermining the security environment of the Korean Peninsula.”

Although the drills were scheduled long in advance, they follow closely on the heels of Xi’s giant military parade which also involved Presidents Putin and Kim Jong Un side by side with the Chinese leader in a rare display of unity.

It grabbed the world’s attention, highlighting China’s latest military capabilities, including advanced ballistic missiles and equipment of China’s nuclear triad.

Interestingly, perhaps wishing to countersignal, US military officials have described these fresh exercises in and off South Korea as the most advanced example of trilateral defense cooperation to date. It highlights the deepening military cooperation with South Korea and Japan.

As of this past summer, North Korea has been demanding that the United States recognize it as a permanent nuclear power.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has “fond memories” of US President Donald Trump, and is open to future talks with Washington if the United States drops its denuclearization demand, North Korea’s state media said Monday https://t.co/H9qk2eulNV pic.twitter.com/0MoEmdlC8m

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 22, 2025

“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state, which was established along with the existence of a powerful nuclear deterrent and fixed by the supreme law reflecting the unanimous will of all the DPRK people, will be thoroughly rejected,” Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un,” said in July.

While President Trump has of late showed a willingness to engage Pyongyang in dialogue, remembering the several unprecedented Trump-Kim meetings of the Republican president’s first term, the reality of ongoing US military drills doesn’t help things at all. Naturally if the US is at times positioning nuclear submarines so close, then Pyongyang has legitimate reason to be alarmed.