North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected key missile bases, reviewing the "readiness for action of strategic deterrence" and describing US strategic nuclear capabilities as a threat, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing the official North Korean news agency KCNA.
Kim was quoted by KCNA as saying that US strategic nuclear assets present an "ever-increasing threat" to North Korea’s security and that long-term risks necessitate a "thorough and strict" counteraction posture for Pyongyang’s nuclear forces.
Kim stressed the need to prioritize the strategic missile force in the modernization of the country's armed forces, calling it "an important principle of the strategy for building the national defense."
The exact timing of the visits was not disclosed by KCNA.
North Korea has upped its rhetoric in recent months. Last month, Kim visited a nuclear facility and called for boosting the country's nuclear capabilities in the face of growing threats from Washington and its allies.
North Korea has also staged dozens of launches of missiles this year, most recently in mid-September, when it fired a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles.
In July, the country tested a new tactical ballistic missile capable of carrying a 4.5-ton super-large warhead.
In January, North Korea launched a hypersonic missile. In response, South Korea, the United States and Japan carried out joint naval drills in waters off southern Jeju Island.
North Korea then announced it had tested an "underwater nuclear weapon system" in response to the joint naval exercises.