North Korea’s Kim Jong Un plans to beef up the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal and warned that the United States better tone down its “hostile policy,” state media reported Saturday.
At a key North Korea ruling party congress last week, Kim told officials to develop missiles with multiple warheads, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines.
Kim also said the country should advance the precision attack capability on targets in a 9,320 mile striking range, meaning the U.S. mainland, and develop technology to manufacture smaller, lighter nuclear warheads.
Kim’s remarks are viewed as a pre-emptive verbal strike against the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden who’s labeled Kim a “thug.”
Kim said the “key to establishing new relations between (North Korea) and the United States is whether the United States withdraws its hostile policy,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim stressed that he won’t unleash his nukes unless “hostile forces” try to use their nuclear weapons against North Korea first. But he said North Korea must up its military and nuclear capability in light of what he said could be a possible US invasion — but failed to cite any examples of such a threat by Americans.
In the past, North Korea has described routine US military drills with South Korea, flights by US surveillance aircraft and the American military presence in South Korea as proof of hostility.