North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country was "ready to mobilise" its nuclear deterrent in any future military clash with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday.
Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned that Pyongyang is preparing to carry out its seventh nuclear test -- a move that the United States has warned would provoke a "swift and forceful" response.
In Kim's latest speech to mark the armistice that ended fighting in the Korean War -- known as "Victory Day" in the North -- he said the country's armed forces were "thoroughly prepared" for any crisis.
"Our country's nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilise its absolute power faithfully, accurately and promptly in accordance with its mission," Kim said in a speech on Wednesday, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.
Speaking to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, Kim emphasised the country's "thorough readiness" to "deal with any military clash with the United States".
His latest threats come as South Korea and the United States move to ramp up joint military exercises, which have always infuriated the North as Pyongyang -- formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) -- considers them rehearsals for invasion.
This week, the US military held live-fire drills using its advanced Apache helicopters stationed in the South for the first time since 2019.
Asked about Kim's remarks, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said they were "not categorically different from what we've heard from the DPRK regime over the course of recent months and in recent years."
"The DPRK also won't be surprised to hear the same message from us and that is our commitment to the defence of the Republic of Korea and Japan... remains ironclad," Price told reporters in Washington.
Kim also slammed the new, hawkish leader of the South, formally known as the Republic of Korea.
President Yoon Suk-yeol took office in May and has vowed to take a tougher stance against Pyongyang -- which includes a plan to mobilise a preemptive strike capability.
"Talking about military action against our nation, which possesses absolute weapons that they fear the most, is preposterous and is very dangerous self-destructive action," Kim said of the Yoon administration, which he branded a group of "gangsters".
"Such a dangerous attempt will be immediately punished by our powerful strength and the Yoon Suk Yeol government and his military will be annihilated."
Commenting on Kim's remarks, US State Department spokesman The North has carried out a record-breaking blitz of sanctions-busting weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile at full range for the first time since 2017.
Nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington have been stalled since a summit between Kim and then-US president Donald Trump in February 2019 broke down over sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.
The Kim regime has since rejected Washington and Seoul's repeated offers to resume talks, claiming the United States must first drop its "hostile" policies.
Impoverished Pyongyang has long struggled to feed its people and its economy has been battered by pandemic-led border closures as well as sanctions over its nuclear programmes.
The country has also been battling a massive outbreak of "fever" after it confirmed its first cases of Covid-19 in May.
"Kim's rhetoric inflates external threats to justify his militarily focused and economically struggling regime," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
"North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are in violation of international law, but Kim tries to depict his destabilising arms buildup as a righteous effort at self-defense."
