North Korean state media reported Kim’s visit to the military sites on Wednesday, claiming the evaluation was part of the country’s national defense strategy to utilize “strategic deterrence” in light of increased hostilities between South Korea and the United States. Kim reportedly categorized the nuclear weapons and capabilities of the United States as problematic and a hazard to North Korea’s national security, Reuters reported.

“The U.S. strategic nuclear means pose [an] ever-increasing threat to the security environment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the long-term threats urgently demand that the DPRK more definitely bolster its war deterrence and take a thorough and strict counteraction posture of the nuclear forces,” Kim reportedly said, according to North Korean outlet KCNA. 

Kim called his country’s missile defense system an integral part of national security and North Korea’s overall ability to promote “war deterrence.” He also called for modernizing the country’s armed forces and prioritizing “strategic missile force in the future, too,” KCNA reported. Kim also stressed the importance of his country’s nuclear capabilities, stating his intentions to “take a thorough and strict counteraction posture of the nuclear forces.”

The latest developments in North Korea come after heightened hostilities with its southern neighbor. First, North Korea objected to South Korea’s military parade during its 76th anniversary of Armed Forces Day earlier in October. KCNA reported that Kim accused South Korea of boasting “about overwhelming counteraction of military muscle at the doorstep of the state possessed of nuclear weapons.” Kim also criticized South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for threatening his country with force due to the parade and conducting military drills with the United States. 

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“He affirmed that ‘if’ the enemy, seized with extreme foolishness and recklessness, attempt to use armed forces encroaching upon the sovereignty of the DPRK … the DPRK would use without hesitation all the offensive forces it has possessed, including nuclear weapons” KCNA added.

North Korea has also been accused of sending troops to aid Russia in its war with Ukraine. South Korean National Intelligence Service published photos last week that allegedly showed hundreds of North Korean troops and ammunition being transported by boat from North Korea to Vladivostok, Russia, earlier this month.

North Korea has denied the allegations.