North Korea passed a law enshrining the right to use pre-emptive nuclear strikes to protect itself, a move leader Kim Jong Un said makes its nuclear status "irreversible" and bars any denuclearization talks, state media reported on Friday.
The move comes as observers say North Korea appears to be preparing to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, after historic summits with then-U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 failed to persuade Kim to abandon his weapons development.
The North's rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, passed the legislation on Thursday as a replacement to a 2013 law that first outlined the country's nuclear status, according to state news agency KCNA.