North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited strategic missile facilities and emphasised the need to continue modernising the weaponry, Korean media reported.
A photo released on Wednesday by the official Korean Central News Agency shows Kim talking to an official while standing next to intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the US mainland.
North Korea has a habit of taking provocative actions, including testing ballistic missiles and nuclear devices to coincide with US elections, and the latest visit appears aimed at drawing attention to its military might ahead of the November 5 vote.
Kim said US nuclear assets pose an “ever-increasing threat” to North Korea and demanded Pyongyang strengthen its military deterrent to launch a strategic counterstrike against “enemies at any time under various circumstances,” Korean media reported.
Kim Jong Un emphasised that the development of strategic missile weapons is given top priority and stressed the importance of keeping North Korea’s nuclear capabilities on standby to respond to US security threats.
North Korea last tested an ICBM in December when it launched a solid-fuelled Hwasong-18 missile that landed west of Japan’s main northern island of Hokkaido. Missiles of this class are considered the most powerful in its arsenal.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen in recent weeks, with South Korea complaining about debris balloons sent by North Korea, Pyongyang accusing the South of sending drones over its capital, and the North blowing up roads connecting the two countries.
Earlier, Kim Jong Un said North Korea would use nuclear weapons in case of aggression or attempted use of force against the country by the US or South Korea.
