“Our tireless work on the construction of nuclear armed forces, aimed at the eternal reliable protection of the dignity and sovereignty of the state and people, is the greatest and most important revolutionary cause,” RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.

The North Korean leader called the Hwaseong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile the "world's most powerful" strategic weapon.

Kim Jong-un also noted the "amazing leap" that the country has made in the field of nuclear weapons.

On November 18, Japan's Maritime Security Service announced that North Korea had launched what was believed to be a ballistic missile.

Yonhap, citing the South Korean military, reported that the DPRK could launch an intercontinental ballistic missile.