North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country will "exponentially" increase its nuclear arsenal to be combat-ready against the United States and its allies, state media KCNA reported Tuesday.

Kim said on Monday that the nation must prepare its "nuclear capability and its readiness to use it properly at any given time in ensuring the security rights of the state," KCNA reported. He was speaking at an event to mark the country's founding anniversary.

He added that a strong military force was necessary to counter threats posed by the US and its "followers."

The United Nations Command in South Korea

While Kim has made similar threats in the past, experts believe that he is likely to perform provocative weapon tests ahead of the US presidential election in November.

Moreover, he has been protesting a new defense guideline between the US and South Korea meant to integrate American nuclear weapons with South Korea's conventional ones to counter threats from the North.

Kim blamed his growing weapons arsenal on these developments on Tuesday.

The North faces "a grave threat" because of "the reckless expansion" of a US-led regional military bloc that is now developing into a nuclear-based one, he said. 

South Korea is set to hold a defense meeting with the members of the United Nations Command (UNC) on Tuesday. The multinational military force is led by the commander of the US military stationed in South Korea.

Germany became the latest to join the force in South Korea, in August.

The force helps police the heavily fortified border with the North and is committed to defend the South if war breaks out.

North Korea, irked by Germany's entry to the force, has previously called the UNC an "illegal war organization."

Is North Korea nuclear ready?

The country has significantly boosted its nuclear weapons program since 2022 with a growing number of missile tests.

Several analysts believe that while the North still has to overcome technological barriers to attain long-range ballistic missiles which can reach mainland US, it already possesses those which can hit key targets in South Korea and Japan. 

mk/wd (Reuters, AP)