North Korean leader Kim orders expansion of nuclear arsenal | Nuclear weapons news

When announcing nuclear measures, Kim Jong Un warned of a “serious threat” from the US-led regional military bloc.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised to increase the country's nuclear arsenal “exponentially” to defend the country against “hostile” forces.

Kim said the isolated state faces a “serious threat” due to the “reckless expansion” of a US-led regional military bloc that is now evolving into a nuclear threat, the official Korean news agency reported on Tuesday.

In a speech marking the 76th anniversary of the founding of his government the day before, Kim said the development was pushing North Korea to improve its military capabilities.

The Asian country will “double its measures and efforts to make all the state's armed forces, including the nuclear forces, fully combat-ready,” he promised.

The speech comes after Pyongyang unveiled a new platform presumably designed to fire more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In recent days, garbage balloons have also begun to be released towards South Korea.

Danger of invasion

North Korea has protested against the new US-South Korean defense policy signed in July, which calls for the integration of American nuclear weapons and South Korean conventional weapons to counter the growing nuclear threat from North Korea.

North Korea said the directive revealed its opponents' invasion plans. US and South Korean officials have repeatedly said they have no intention of attacking the country.

Since 2022, North Korea has significantly increased its weapons tests and threatened that it would be capable of launching attacks against the United States and South Korea.

According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute SIPRI, North Korea currently has about 50 nuclear warheads, but the exact number is unknown.

North Korea is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons and missile program. The last known nuclear test took place in 2017.

The US and South Korea responded by expanding their military exercises, which North Korea describes as invasion rehearsals.