North Korean leader vows to further strengthen nuclear program

ANKARA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to further strengthen his country's nuclear weapons program, South Korean media reported on Tuesday.

Kim made the announcement at a grand military parade on the eve of the 90th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA), Yonhap News Agency reported.

He warned that in the worst-case scenario they could put their nuclear arsenal to use.

"Our basic mission regarding nuclear power is to deter war but our nuclear weapons cannot be confined solely within the boundaries of preventing a war until a situation is created that we never hope to witness in this land," the agency quoted Kim as saying.

Photos shared by state-run media show that the newly tested intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) were also displayed in the parade.

In a veiled reference to the US, he said any forces looking for a military confrontation will be defeated.

His remarks came just a week after the US special representative for North Korea, Ambassador Sung Kim warned that North Korea will face a tough response to any of its provocations.

Earlier, North Korea's state-run media said that the country test-fired a new type of tactical guided weapon, apparently as part of its effort to boost its nuclear capabilities.

North Korea is under UN sanctions since 2006 for its nuclear program, which it has refused to abandon. Besides, Washington has imposed its own sanctions on the country, punishing the communist state for developing its defense capabilities.

Since last year, tensions have mounted in the Korean Peninsula as both the North and South conduct frequent military drills in a show of power.

This year alone, North Korea has conducted more than 12 missile tests, including that of a newly developed hypersonic missile.

On March 11, South Korean officials claimed that North Korea has started restoring tunnels at its nuclear site that were closed in 2018.

Some parts of the nuclear site were destroyed in the presence of foreign media ahead of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's first meeting with then-US President Donald Trump.

The development came after Kim threatened in January that the country will consider resuming "all temporally suspended" defense activities to bolster its defenses against the US.

He was apparently referring to Pyongyang's self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile testing, which has been in effect since 2017.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid