North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to use nuclear weapons if his country's sovereignty was threatened, Pyongyang's state media reported on Friday.
North Korea's military "would use without hesitation all the offensive forces it possesses, including nuclear weapons," Kim said during a visit to an army training base on Wednesday, state-controlled KCNA news agency reported.
"If such a situation comes, the permanent existence of Seoul and the Republic of Korea would be impossible," he said, using South Korea's official name.
On Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea that any attempt to use nuclear weapons would be met with a firm and overwhelming response from South Korea and its US allies.
Yoon said if North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it would face the "resolute and overwhelming response" of its military and the South Korean-US alliance.
In September, Kim revealed a uranium enrichment facility and expressed his desire to "exponentially" expand the country's nuclear weapons arsenal.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), North Korea currently possesses around 50 nuclear warheads, though the exact number is unknown.
Widely isolated North Korea is subject to international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons and missile programme. The last known nuclear test took place in 2017.
