North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for expanding the country's war deterrence capabilities in a "more practical and offensive" way, state media said Tuesday, to counter what it called "frantic" aggression by the United States and South Korea.
Pyongyang has opened the year with a flurry of weapons tests, including what state media has claimed are nuclear-capable underwater drones and the launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Kim ordered that the country's deterrence capabilities be strengthened with "increasing speed" and in a "more practical and offensive" manner.
North Korea last year declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear power, effectively ending the possibility of denuclearisation talks.
Earlier this year, Kim ordered the military to intensify drills to prepare for a "real war".
In response, Washington and Seoul have intensified defence cooperation, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and high-profile US strategic assets.
North Korea views such exercises as rehearsals for invasion, and on Tuesday described them as "frantic" drills "simulating an all-out war against" Pyongyang.
