Kim Jong Un starts the year threatening the US and South Korea

seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the “exponential” expansion of his country’s nuclear arsenal and the development of a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile after opening the new year with another missile launch.

Kim’s announcement is in line with the overall direction of his nuclear program, as he has repeatedly vowed to increase both the quality and quantity of his arsenal to deal with “US hostility.”

“Now they are interested in isolating and suffocating (North Korea), something unprecedented in human history,” Kim told a meeting of the ruling Labor Party, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “The prevailing situation requires redoubling efforts to overwhelmingly strengthen the military muscle,” the North Korean leader also said.

During the six-day meeting to determine new state targets, Kim called for “an exponential increase in the country’s nuclear arsenal” to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons for an eventual battlefield against South Korea. He also presented a project to develop a new ICBM with a “rapid nuclear counterstrike” capability, a weapon he needs to attack the continental United States. He also announced that the North’s first military reconnaissance satellite would be launched “at the earliest possible date.”