Kim orders military to 'thoroughly annihilate' US, S Korea if provoked

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to thoroughly annihilate the United States and South Korea if provoked, state media reported Monday, after he vowed to boost national defences to cope with what he called an unprecedented US-led confrontation.

Kim is expected to ramp up weapons tests in 2024 ahead of the US presidential election in November. Many experts say he likely believes his expanded nuclear arsenal would allow him to wrest US concessions if former President Donald Trump is reelected.

In a five-day major ruling party meeting last week, Kim said he will launch three more military spy satellites, produce more nuclear materials and develop attack drones this year in what observers say is an attempt to increase his leverage in future diplomacy with the US.

In a meeting on Sunday with commanding army officers, Kim said it is urgent to sharpen the treasured sword to safeguard national security, an apparent reference to his country's nuclear weapons program. He cited the US and other hostile forces' military confrontation moves", according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Kim stressed that our army should deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate them by mobilising all the toughest means and potentialities without moment's hesitation if they opt for military confrontation and provocations against North Korea, KCNA said.

Experts say small-scale military clashes between North and South Korea could happen this year along their heavily armed border. They say North Korea is also expected to test-launch intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the mainland US and other major new weapons.

In 2018-19, Kim met Trump in three rounds of talks on North Korea's expanding nuclear arsenal. The diplomacy fell apart after the US rejected Kim's limited offer to dismantle his main nuclear complex in exchange for extensive reductions in US-led sanctions.

Estimates of the size of North Korea's nuclear arsenal vary, ranging from about 20-30 bombs to more than 100. Many foreign experts say North Korea still has some technological hurdles to overcome to produce functioning nuclear-armed ICBMs, though its shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles can reach South Korea and Japan.