North Korea’s No. 1 Kim Jong Un has called for increased production of “military nuclear materials” and the production of more powerful weapons, state media reported on Tuesday.
This latest threat from Mr Kim, echoing an earlier promise to increase nuclear weapons production “exponentially”, comes just ahead of the expected arrival of a US Navy aircraft carrier in South Korea on Tuesday.
After speaking with officials at the country’s Nuclear Weapons Institute, the leader said North Korea must prepare to use its nuclear weapons “anywhere, anytime,” according to the official KCNA.
He also urged officials to “expand the production of military nuclear materials over the long term to implement the plan (…) of an exponential increase in nuclear arsenals at depth.”
Kim also “encouraged continued production of powerful nuclear weapons,” KCNA added.
When North Korea prepares its nuclear weapons systems “to perfection, the enemy will fear us and not dare to challenge the sovereignty of our state, our system and our people,” Kim said, according to the same source.
Last year, North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power, and Kim Jong Un recently called for an “exponential” increase in arms production, including tactical nuclear weapons.
In early March, he also ordered his army to intensify military maneuvers in the face of “real war.”
North Korea’s military said Tuesday it had conducted a second test of what it presented as an “underwater nuclear attack drone,” the first test of which took place last week.
The new weapon, called Haeil – which means tsunami in Korean – was tested in response to recent military exercises between the US and South Korea, the largest in five years, Pyongyang said.
It maneuvered underwater “for 41 hours and 27 minutes on a simulated route of 600 kilometers” before detonating on a target off North Hamgyong province early Monday, KCNA said.
The test “demonstrated all strategic qualifications as well as the safety and reliability of the weapon system,” according to KCNA.
Russia has reportedly developed a similar weapon, the Poseidon nuclear torpedo, but mastering the complex technology required for such weapons may still not be possible for North Korea, experts say.
The North Korean army also conducted a firing exercise simulating a nuclear attack using tactical ballistic missiles on Monday, the KCNA news agency said in a separate statement.