Pyongyang, North Korea - North Korean law now allows for a nuclear response to a threatened attack after the policy was enshrined by members of the Supreme People's Assembly, according to media reports on Friday.

The new law allows a nuclear attack to wipe out the source of the threat, South Korean media reported, citing North Korean outlets.

Although it is common knowledge that North Korea has nuclear weapons – it regularly tests them and refers to itself as a nuclear power in its constitution – the new status puts makes the country's status as a nuclear power undeniable.

Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons has made it the subject of a wide scope of international sanctions.

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According to media reports, the law was passed on Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying that it creates "an irreversible line, meaning that our nuclear weapons can never be negotiated about again."

He said that the US not only wants to rob North Korea of its nuclear arsenal, but also to overthrow its government. The two sides have had no talks since a failed summit between Kim and former US president Donald Trump in February 2019.

The new law gives Kim "decisive power" regarding the country's nuclear weapons. Should the country's nuclear command and control center become endangered, a nuclear strike could be launched "automatically and immediately."

The nuclear response would not be limited to nuclear attacks, but also to other weapons of mass destruction deployed against North Korea.

North Korea has already conducted multiple nuclear tests this year, in violation of existing UN resolutions.