North Korea to Deploy Nuclear Weapons to Navy Amid US–Japan–South Korea Joint Drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to bolster his navy’s combat readiness with nuclear capabilities as the United States, Japan, and South Korea began their trilateral ballistic missile defense drills.

A man watches a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul on May 31, 2023. Jung Yeon Je/AFP via Getty Images

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed on Aug. 29 to bolster his navy’s combat readiness with nuclear capabilities as the United States, Japan, and South Korea began their trilateral ballistic missile defense drills.

During a visit to the North Korean navy headquarters, Mr. Kim said that military units of different services “would be equipped with new weaponry according to the policy of expanding the tactical nuclear weapons operation.”