SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his military should “completely destroy” the United States and South Korea if provoked, state media reported Monday, after vowing to bolster national defenses to to deal with what he described as an unprecedented U.S.-led confrontation.

North Korea has increased its bellicose rhetoric in recent months in response to the expansion of military exercises between the United States and South Korea. Experts expect Kim to further escalate his rhetoric and weapons tests, likely believing he can use rising tensions to make concessions to the US if former President Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November.

At a major five-day ruling party meeting last week, Kim said he would launch three more military spy satellites this year, produce more nuclear materials and develop attack drones, in what observers said was an attempt to increase his influence in future diplomacy with the United States

At a meeting on Sunday with commanding army officers, Kim said there was an urgent need to sharpen “the treasured sword” to protect national security, an apparent reference to his country’s nuclear weapons program. According to the official Korean Central News Agency, he referred to “the confrontational military measures taken by the United States and other enemy forces.”

Kim stressed that “our army should deal a fatal blow to them to thoroughly destroy them by mobilizing all the strongest means and capabilities without hesitation” if they choose military confrontation and provocations against North Korea, KCNA said.

In his New Year’s address on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would strengthen his military’s preemptive strike, missile defense and retaliatory capabilities in response to North Korea’s nuclear threat.

“The Republic of Korea builds real, lasting peace through strength, not a submissive peace that depends on the goodwill of the opponent,” Yoon said, using South Korea’s official name.

At the party congress, Kim described South Korea as “a hemiplegic deformity and colonial subordinate state” whose society was “tainted by Yankee culture.” He said his military must use all available means, including nuclear weapons, to “suppress the entire territory of South Korea” in the event of a conflict.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry warned on Sunday in response that South Korean and U.S. forces would overwhelmingly punish the country if it attempted to use nuclear weapons, leading to the end of the Kim government.

KCNA said North Korean officials held talks on Monday to implement an order from Kim to disband or reform organizations that manage relations with South Korea, fundamentally changing the principle and direction of the North’s fight against the South. There was no immediate explanation as to how this might affect long-stalled inter-Korean relations.

Experts say there could be minor military clashes between North and South Korea along the heavily armed border this year. They say North Korea is also expected to test intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland, as well as other important new weapons.

In 2018 and 2019, Kim met Trump in three rounds of talks about North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal. The diplomacy collapsed after the U.S. rejected Kim’s offer to dismantle his main nuclear complex, a limited step, in return for a broad reduction in U.S.-imposed sanctions.

Since 2022, North Korea has conducted more than 100 missile tests, prompting the United States and South Korea to expand their joint military exercises. North Korea has also sought to strengthen its ties with China and Russia, blocking efforts by the United States and its U.N. Security Council partners to increase U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its weapons tests.

KCNA said Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged New Year’s messages on strengthening bilateral ties on Monday. North Korea is suspected of supplying conventional weapons to Russia’s war in Ukraine in return for advanced Russian technologies to improve the North’s military programs.

Estimates of the size of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal vary, ranging from about 20-30 bombs to more than 100. Many foreign experts say North Korea still needs to overcome several technological hurdles to produce viable nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, although it has shorter-range nuclear missiles -capable missiles can reach South Korea and Japan.