North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for increasing his country's deterrence capabilities to counter what he called "hysterical" aggression by the United States and South Korea, the state news agency said Tuesday (April 11th).

On Monday, North Korea's No. 1 attended a meeting of the Central Military Commission devoted to fighting "against the escalation of maneuvers by US imperialists and traitors, South Korean puppets to start a war of aggression," according to the official KCNA news agency.

At the meeting, Kim Jong-un ordered North Korea's deterrence capabilities to be built up "faster and faster" and in a "more concrete and offensive" way.

"Irreversible" nuclear power

Since March 23, Pyongyang has claimed to have conducted three tests of an underwater nuclear attack drone capable of "producing a large-scale radioactive tsunami". The regime also said it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on March 16.

Last year, North Korea declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear power, burying possible negotiations on the denuclearization of its country. And in March, Kim Jong-un ordered his troops to step up their drills in preparation for a "real war."

Washington and Seoul responded with joint military maneuvers, involving US stealth aircraft. Pyongyang sees the drills as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory and on Tuesday called them "hysterical" drills, "simulating all-out war against" North Korea.

With AFP

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