North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asks army to 'thoroughly annihilate' US, South Korea if provoked

Kim made the remark during a meeting with major commanding officers of the Korean People's Army at the office building of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted as saying by Yonhap.

During the meeting, Kim analyzed in detail "the critical security environment on the Korean Peninsula inching closer to the brink of armed conflict as the days go by and the nature of the U.S. and other hostile forces' military confrontation moves," the KCNA said.

"If the enemy opt for military confrontation and provocation against the DPRK, our army should deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate them by mobilizing all the toughest means and potentialities without moment's hesitation," he said.

Kim Jong Un said his nation will not seek reunification and reconciliation with South Korea.

He also vowed to put three new military spy satellites into orbit in 2024.

“I believe that it is a mistake that we must no longer make to deal with the people who declare us as ‘the main enemy’ and seek only opportunities for ‘[our] regime collapse’ and ‘unification by absorption’ by collaborating for reconciliation and unification,” Kim was quoted as saying by CNN.

Kim Jong Un visited Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin last year.

The visit signalled a deepening relationship between the two nations. As per an Al Jazeera report, Putin said Russia would help North Korea launch satellites, while Kim said Moscow had his full backing in its “sacred fight” with the West.