South Korean President Yoon Sok Yul said on Sunday that North Korea would continue "nuclear and missile provocations" and that the South Korean military should "respond clearly."

South Korea's defense ministry said that if Pyongyang tried to use nuclear weapons, "the Kim Jong Un regime will face its end".

She added that the South Korean military will greatly enhance its ability to implement extended deterrence.

Earlier in the day, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a "massive" increase in North Korea's nuclear arsenal, including the mass production of tactical nuclear weapons and the development of new missiles for use in nuclear counter-strike.

And according to the official North Korean News Agency, Kim said - following a major meeting of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang - that the country should "largely build up military power" in 2023 in response to what he described as US and South Korean hostility.

North Korea concluded the year 2022 by firing 3 missiles towards the East Sea (Reuters)

The North Korean leader indicated that Washington and Seoul are determined to "isolate" his country and "strangle" it, pointing out that his country will focus on "mass production of tactical nuclear weapons" and also develop another system of intercontinental ballistic missiles, the main task of which is "implementing a nuclear counter-quick strike."

The agency added that these goals constitute the "main thrust" of the 2023 nuclear and defense strategy.

In the context, the South Korean army said that North Korea launched a ballistic missile over the sea towards the east of the Korean Peninsula in the early hours of the first day of the New Year, less than 24 hours after Pyongyang launched 3 ballistic missiles towards the East Sea (Sea of ​​Japan). .

South Korea's military described North Korea's series of missile tests as serious provocations that harm peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and beyond.

In 2022, Pyongyang carried out an unprecedented number of missile launches, including an intercontinental ballistic missile believed to be capable of hitting the US mainland, in defiance of his country's adversaries and international sanctions.

Kim and other officials - including his sister Kim Yo Jong - vowed a strong response to any attack on North Korea.