North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to increase the production of nuclear warheads 'exponentially' and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported Sunday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to increase the production of nuclear warheads "exponentially" and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported Sunday, signalling deepening animosities with the U.S., South Korea and others.
"They are now keen on isolating and stifling [North Korea], unprecedented in human history," Kim said at a recently ended ruling party meeting, according to the official Korean Central News Agency . "The prevailing situation calls for making redoubled efforts to overwhelmingly beef up the military muscle to thoroughly guarantee the sovereignty, security and fundamental interests of [the country].
Tactical nuclear weapons and a military reconnaissance satellite are among an array of weapons systems that Kim has vowed to introduce in recent years. Other weapons he wants include a multi-warhead missile, a more agile solid-fuelled ICBM, an underwater-launched nuclear missile and a hypersonic weapon.
Last month, North Korea said Kim supervised the test of a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor" for a new strategic weapon. Experts say the weapon refers to a solid-fuelled ICBM, which can be launched more quickly than a liquid-fuelled ICBM because the fuel in solid-propellant rockets is already loaded inside. All of North Korea's previously tested ICBMs use liquid propellants.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the launch highlights "the destabilizing impact" of North Korea's unlawful weapons programs. It said U.S. commitments to defend South Korea and Japan "remain ironclad." Kim said the rocket launcher put all of South Korea within striking distance and is capable of carrying a tactical nuclear warhead, according to KCNA.