North Korea Updates Constitution for Automatic Nuclear Strike if Kim Jong Un Is Assassinated

North Korea has amended its constitution to require an automatic retaliatory nuclear strike if leader Kim Jong Un is assassinated, The Telegraph reported.

The change comes amid heightened global tensions following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other officials in a recent conflict. Khamenei died in an Israeli strike in Tehran during a coordinated U.S.-Israeli military operation earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported previously.

North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly approved the revision during a session that opened March 22 in Pyongyang.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service briefed senior government officials this week on the update, according to the report. The revised policy sets out procedures for retaliation if the country’s leadership is incapacitated or killed.

"If the command-and-control system over the state’s nuclear forces is placed in danger by hostile forces’ attacks … a nuclear strike shall be launched automatically and immediately," the provision states.

Reuters reported earlier that North Korea had revised its constitution to define its territory as bordering South Korea and drop references to reunification. That change reflected Kim’s effort to treat the two Koreas as separate states and marked the first time the document included a territorial clause.

Last month, Kim pledged to strengthen North Korea’s nuclear capabilities further while keeping a hard line toward South Korea, which he called the "most hostile" state. He has also accused the United States of "state terrorism and aggression" and indicated North Korea could play a more active role against Washington amid rising global tensions.