{
  "id": 8161683,
  "title": "N. Korea's vice defense minister justifies nuclear arsenal at Chinese defense forum",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/n-koreas-vice-defense-minister-justifies-nuclear-arsenal-at-chinese-8161683",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-18T03:32:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/northkorea/20260918/n-koreas-vice-defense-minister-justifies-nuclear-arsenal-at-chinese-defense-forum"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "North Korea's Vice Defense Minister, Kim Kang-il, defended his nation's nuclear arsenal during a Chinese defense forum, asserting it as a form of self-defense. His remarks, reported by Pyongyang's state media Friday, came from a speech he delivered at the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, hosted in China from Tuesday to Thursday. Kim lambasted the United States for its joint military exercises with allies, contending those drills, premised on the assumption of nuclear weapons usage, were conducted openly near the Korean Peninsula. He firmly claimed that such drills supported North Korea's own nuclear program, stating the North would \"incessantly expand and strengthen our self-defensive nuclear war deterrent.\" Kim emphasized that the country's nuclear status had reached a \"point of no return.\" He also called upon \"enemy states\" to abandon what he termed their \"unrealistic denuclearization delusion.\" Kim met with his Chinese counterpart outside the forum to discuss enhancing strategic communication and bolstering military cooperation and development, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency.",
  "summary": "North Korea's Vice Defense Minister Kim Kang-il has reaffirmed his country's nuclear program at a defense forum in China, calling it \"self-defensive,\" Pyongyang's state media reported Friday. Kim made the remarks Thursday in his address at the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which was held in China from Tuesday to Thursday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. Kim criticized the United…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "N.Korea leader's sister blasts US drills, threatens 'more offensive' response",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/n-korea-leaders-sister-blasts-us-drills-threatens-more-offensive",
        "published": "2026-09-17T22:28:04.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "N. Korea leader’s sister blasts US‑led drills, threatens ‘more offensive’ nuclear‑deterrence steps",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/n-korea-leaders-sister-blasts-us-led-drills-threatens-more-offensive",
        "published": "2026-09-18T01:58:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "N. Korea's vice defense minister justifies nuclear arsenal at Chinese defense forum",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/n-koreas-vice-defense-minister-justifies-nuclear-arsenal-at-chinese",
        "published": "2026-09-18T02:56:18.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "N. Korea nuclear tests reactivated dormant faults: study",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/n-korea-nuclear-tests-reactivated-dormant-faults-study",
        "published": "2026-09-18T04:02:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}