State media reported Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged to increase nuclear production for military purposes and make more powerful weapons. Kim made the call at a meeting with members of the country’s nuclear weapons institute, saying they should prepare to use their missiles “anytime and anywhere.”
He also encouraged “far-sighted expanding the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials with a view to implementing the plan to (…) exponentially increase nuclear arsenals.” Photographs published by the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim inspecting a row of alleged nuclear warheads identified as “Hwasan-31,” which can be mounted on different types of missiles. According to analysts, this is an indication that the country is preparing its seventh nuclear test.
North Korea declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power last year, and Kim has recently called for an “exponential increase in weapons production, including tactical nuclear weapons.”
The country has engaged in a “give-and-take” of missile launches and tests in response to US and South Korean military exercises, which is a heavy burden for the impoverished country. “North Korea warned of a crushing response to each joint military exercise, but seeing the number of missiles launched, it cannot go on like this indefinitely,” said one expert.
“In that case, the seventh nuclear test will mark a kind of end; they will declare themselves a nuclear power and go back to negotiating with the United States,” he anticipated. Kim said that when North Korea has “impeccably” prepared its weapons systems, “the enemy will fear us and will not dare to provoke our sovereignty, our system, and our people.” The North Korean military also conducted test firings Monday that simulated a nuclear attack using tactical ballistic missiles.