North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was photographed showing off a new, smaller nuclear warhead on Monday – as he promised to extend production of weapons materials to expand his nuclear arsenal.
Kim inspected the tactical warheads – called Hwasan-31 – during a visit to the state Institute of Nuclear Weapons the Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The visit to the institute was the culmination of joint naval exercises of South Korea and the US, aimed toward strengthening defense and response capabilities.
North Korea has long regarded such military exercises as an attempted invasion.
Through the visit, Kim said on Monday, Kim pressed scientists to “foresightfully expand” nuclear fuel production to realize goals of “exponential” expansion of the nuclear arsenal.
![Kim Jong Un is researching a new, smaller tactical warhead developed in North Korea that can be equipped with various delivery systems.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008891058.jpg?w=1024)
He also issued unspecified “vital assignments” to the institute and the country’s nuclear industry.
Kim told them that they “should never be satisfied” with the country’s ability to counter-attack with nuclear weapons, mentioning that “if a massive and powerful nuclear force beyond imagination” is prepared, nobody would dare to impress North Korea, KCNA reported.
Photos were also released of Kim talking to officials on the institute, reviewing a set of tactical warheads, and examining plans and written orders for a counterattack operation.
![Kim Jong Un met with North Korean officials at the Nuclear Weapons Institute on Monday, where a smaller nuclear warhead was revealed.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008891059.jpg?w=1024)
Experts said the photos show North Korea is making progress towards its goal of making smaller warheads that may be fitted to intercontinental ballistic missiles in addition to other delivery systems corresponding to submarines.
“They aren’t limited to tactical missiles, but look like miniaturized, lightweight and standardized warheads that may be mounted on a number of vehicles,” Kim Dong-yup, a South Korean naval officer who teaches at Kyungnam University, he told Reuters.
“Now that the delivery vehicles are almost ready, they will probably be producing warheads to secure second-strike capabilities – perhaps a whole bunch, not dozens – while the centrifuges will work even harder to acquire weapons-grade nuclear material,” he said.
Kim’s visit also coincides with a series of launches by North Korea this month, including testing a “nuclear underwater attack drone” with the flexibility to focus on navy strike groups and enemy ports.
With postal wires