South Korea’s defence ministry said it did not believe the North has successfully miniaturised a nuclear warhead or deployed a functioning intercontinental ballistic missile.
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Pyongyang has previously said it has nuclear warheads small enough to put on long-range missiles, but experts have questioned such claims.
Mr Kim’s comments came a day after the North’s powerful National Defence Commission threatened pre-emptive nuclear attacks on South Korea and the United States mainland, as Seoul and Washington kicked off large-scale joint military exercises.
The assets are primarily in the Kaesong industrial zone, where operation was suspended by the South last month as punishment for the North’s recent rocket launch and a nuclear test, as well as in the Mount Kumgang tourist zone.
North Korea dabbled with nuclear tests in January, which the capital Pyongyang says were hydrogen bomb experiments.
“From this time on, we nullify all agreements adopted by North and South Korea on economic cooperation and exchange programs”, the committee said. In 2015, North Korea publicly announced that it has this capability.
“Pyongyang must realise that in doing so, North Korea is definitively turning its back on the global community and creating a legal basis for the use of military force against it”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
South Korea had a similar take, with the unification ministry saying the North was essentially reacting to the imposition of the new United Nations sanctions.
The kingdom made the claim by publishing photos on the front page of its ruling party newspaper that show the country’s leader standing beside what it said was miniaturised nuclear warhead during a meeting with his top scientists.
The UN Security Council responded by imposing further sanctions.
“We closely monitor activities [in North Korea], and we’re always ready to act in support of our Republic of Korea allies”.
North Korea, which views such maneuvers as a threat and a possible preparation for invasion, warned that the country was already in a position to launch a nuclear strike against its enemies. He said it was obviously a model because Kim and others would not stand near an actual device because of concerns about radioactivity.
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Also shown in the photos is a KN-08 ballistic missile or its model, which reportedly has an estimated range of 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles), according to South Korean analysts.
