Kim Jong-un says N. Korea needs to "rapidly expand" its nuclear armament

We begin with North Korea, where the regime's leader slammed the annual summertime military exercise between South Korea and the U.S. that began on Monday.

But Seoul is firm that the drills are strictly defensive.

Our Byeon Ye-young reports.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un accused the United States and South Korea of heightening the risk of conflict through their joint UFS military exercise, and stressed that Pyongyang needed to rapidly expand its nuclear armament.

His remarks, carried by the KCNA state media on Tuesday coincided with the start of the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.

According to the report, Kim delivered the message while inspecting the Choe Hyon , North Korea's new 5,000-ton warship, at Nampo Shipyard.

He said the close military coordination between the United States and South Korea, along with their displays of force and "nuclear elements" demonstrated a will to provoke war.

He added that such actions undermine both peace and the broader security environment in the region.

Kim also went on to say that the deteriorating security environment compels North Korea to push for swift, fundamental shifts in its military strategy and to significantly expand its nuclear weapons stockpile.

Against this backdrop, Kim emphasized the navy's role in strengthening North Korea's defense, saying it will soon become a reliable force in the nation's nuclear domain.

Photos released by the KCNA showed Kim visiting the situation room and living quarters on the Choe Hyun.

Kim reportedly instructed that the warship move on to performance evaluations in October.

An expert pointed to the upcoming South Korea-U.S. summit as the reason for Pyongyang hardening its hostile stance.

"This upcoming South Korea summit is very important and also it's going to be a real change for the Russian and Ukraine war because Trump has met Putin, and that's another very huge and direct issue for North Korea. So this is why North Korea tried to show their very clear policy attitude regarding the Korean peninsula, including the issue of denuclearization."

Pyongyang has long denounced the joint exercise as invasion rehearsals and at times countered with weapons tests.

But Seoul and Washington maintain the drills are strictly defensive, with South Korea's unification ministry stressing Tuesday it had no intention of attacking the North or raising tensions on the peninsula.

Byeon Ye-young, Arirang News.