North Korea will “without hesitation” use its nuclear weapons if attacked by South Korea and the US, its leader Kim Jong Un said this week, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency reported today.

Pyongyang will “use without hesitation all means at its disposal, including nuclear weapons” if “the enemy” attacks it, North Korea’s leader said yesterday, according to the agency, amid ongoing tension with Seoul.

There is no doubt that Mr. Kim was referring to the alliance between Seoul and Washington.

South Korea does not possess nuclear weapons and relies on the deterrent power of its key ally, the US.

Kim Jong Un’s remarks came after South Korea celebrated — on Tuesday — Armed Forces Day.

President Yoon Sok-gil said at a celebratory event that Mr Kim would risk “the end of his regime” if he used a nuclear weapon.

He threatened that there would be a “decisive and overwhelming response” from his military and the Seoul-Washington alliance.

Tens of thousands of US military personnel are stationed in South Korea.

Reacting, Kim Jong Un called Mr Yun a “puppet” and “abnormal”, according to KCNA.

In mid-September, North Korea released visual footage of its uranium enrichment facilities for the first time, while Mr Kim once again called for further development of his country’s nuclear arsenal.

Relations between the two Koreas are going through one of the most tense periods in recent years. Pyongyang announced in early August that it was deploying 250 missile launchers on its border with South Korea.

The Korean War (1950-’53) ended with a simple armistice, no peace agreement was ever signed. From a technical point of view, the two states remain at war.