Kim Jong-un: North Korea may inflict pre-emptive nuclear strikes on US

PYONGYANG, March 9. /TASS/. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un said his country may inflict pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the US, KCNA news agency reported.

Speaking at a meeting with nuclear weapons experts he said: "Without thinking twice North Korea will inflict preventive nuclear strikes on the United States if the US imperialists threaten its sovereignty and right to existence."

On Wednesday, Kim Jong-un has met with the country’s nuclear weapons experts and discussed "the strengthening of the country's nuclear arsenal".

North Korea's leader, according to KCNA, "has paid great attention to the research related to the creation of various types of tactical and strategic missiles with nuclear warheads, acquainted himself with the specialization and the mechanism of compact nuclear warheads of the Korean style".

Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported referring to KCNA, that Kim Jong Un said the country has miniaturized nuclear warheads to be mounted on ballistic missiles.

"The nuclear warheads have been standardized to be fit for ballistic missiles by miniaturizing them," KCNA quoted him as saying.

On February 7, KCNA reported that North Korea’s rocket carrier brought to the Earth orbit Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite.

The launch was made from the Sohe test site in the northwest part of the country.

On January 6, North Korea’s central television reported that Pyongyang had conducted a successful test of a thermonuclear bomb. North Korea previously conducted three nuclear tests: in 2006, in 2009 and in 2013. Following these tests, the United Nations Security Council imposed different kinds of sanctions on Pyongyang. In the past two years, North Korea refrained from nuclear tests limiting itself to ballistic missile launches as a response to South Korea’s and the United States’ large-scale military exercises.