State media in North Korea on Tuesday, 26 April, broadcast videos from a military parade that exhibited banned intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The parade reportedly took place on Monday night when the state was celebrating the 90th anniversary of North Korea's armed forces, according to state news agency KCNA.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the parade and even gave a speech vowing to increase the country's nuclear arsenal.
In recent times, Pyongyang has been frequently conducting weapon tests in the backdrop of stalled denuclearisation talks with the United States.
Additionally, their southern neighbour has a president-elect who will officially take power in two weeks – Yoon Seok-youl of the conservative People Power Party.
Officials in Washington and Seoul say that there are indications of new construction efforts at North Korea's only known nuclear test site, the Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, which is supposed to be 'closed' since 2018.
"The nuclear forces of our republic should be fully prepared to fulfil their responsible mission and put their unique deterrent in motion at any time," Kim told the crowd at the parade, as reported by KCNA.
"If any forces try to violate the fundamental interests of our state, our nuclear forces will have to decisively accomplish an unexpected second mission," he added.
(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)
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