SEOUL, March 24 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared South Korea the “most hostile state” during a speech to the country’s rubber-stamp legislature, state media reported Tuesday, reinforcing Pyongyang’s hardening stance despite Seoul’s push to revive inter-Korean dialogue.

Kim made the remarks Monday on the second and final day of the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

“We will recognize South Korea as the most hostile state and deal with it by thoroughly rejecting and ignoring it through the clearest words and actions,” Kim said.

He also warned that Pyongyang would make Seoul “pay a merciless price” if it provokes the North.

The statement is among Pyongyang’s clearest formal declarations yet of the South as an adversary, building on a policy shift Kim laid out in 2024 when he called for abandoning long-standing goals of peaceful reunification and defining Seoul as the North’s “principal enemy.”

KCNA said Kim referred to revisions to North Korea’s constitution, but it remains unclear whether the changes formally codify South Korea as a “hostile state.”

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to ease inter-Korean tensions since taking office in June, calling for the resumption of dialogue and making conciliatory gestures such as dismantling border propaganda loudspeakers.

The North, however, has rebuffed such overtures while continuing to expand its military posture. In his speech, Kim pledged to further bolster the country’s nuclear deterrent.

“It is our firm policy to steadily strengthen and advance our nuclear forces and to solidify the irreversible status of our state as a nuclear weapons power,” Kim said.

He also accused the United States of carrying out acts of “terrorism” around the world — an apparent reference to Washington’s recent military actions in the Middle East — although he did not cite specific countries or mention President Donald Trump.

Kim has suggested the possibility of future talks with Washington, saying last month there was “no reason” the two countries could not improve relations if the United States abandons what he described as its hostile policy.

He echoed that position in his speech, saying that whether adversaries “choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence, that is their choice, and we are prepared to respond to any choice.”

The Supreme People’s Assembly session is one of North Korea’s most important political gatherings, where key policy directions and personnel decisions are formally endorsed.

On Monday, KCNA reported that Kim was reappointed as president of the State Affairs Commission, the country’s top leadership post.