North Korea allows ‘automatic’ nuclear strikes to protect Kim

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un attends an event celebrating the 74th anniversary of North Korea's founding, in Pyongyang, North Korea in this undated photo released on Sept 9, 2022. - KCNA via Reuters

SEOUL (Bloomberg): Kim Jong-un expanded the circumstances under which North Korea would launch a nuclear strike -- including attacking automatically if his leadership is threatened -- further raising the stakes for any military confrontation with the US and its allies.

North Korea laid out its new nuclear doctrine in a law approved Thursday (Sept 8) by the Supreme People’s Congress in Pyongyang, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.