North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said an elevated US security partnership with South Korea and Japan poses a grave threat to his country and vowed to bolster his nuclear weapons program further, state media reported Sunday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal as he lashed out at military cooperation between the US, Japan and South Korea. Speaking at a defence ministry event on Saturday, Kim condemned the deployment of US nuclear assets and joint military exercises in the region, claiming they created "military imbalance".

Kim said that US deployments of nuclear strategic assets, war games, and military cooperation with Japan and South Korea were creating a regional military imbalance and posing a serious threat to the security environment,

North Korea's Kim Jong Un criticizes the trilateral military cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea for only increasing tensions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kangdong County Hospital and General Service Center in Kangdong County, North Korea, February 6, 2025, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un criticised trilateral military cooperation among the United States, Japan and South Korea for raising tensions in the region and vowed countermeasures, including the further development of nuclear forces.