North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the United States will never be able to start a war against the north now that his country has developed the capability to hit all of the US mainland with its nuclear weapons.
"The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a threat," Kim said during a televised New Year's Day speech.
The North Korean leader said the country had achieved the historic feat of "completing" its nuclear forces and added that he has a "nuclear button" on his desk.
The customary New Year's address was broadcast Monday morning on North Korean state television.
The speech is being watched closely, as Kim followed up on promises he made during his 2017 New Year's Day address when he wed to speed up the country's nuclear weapons development.
Kim touted last year that North Korea had "entered the final stage of preparation" to test an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea's 15 ballistic missile tests of 2017 focused on intermediate and long-range rockets.
Kim is also believed to have called for the mass-production of nuclear weapons and missiles and is "putting them into service", according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
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