- In a New Year's Day message taunting the US, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claimed the US would never be able to start a war against North Korea.
- "The entire United States is within range of our nuclear weapons, and a nuclear button is always on my desk." he said.
- North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September.
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday said the United States would never be able to start a war against North Korea.
"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.
"This year we should focus on mass producing nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles for operational deployment," Kim said. "These weapons will be used only if our security is threatened."
North Korea tested intercontinental ballistic missiles and conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September in defiance of international warnings and sanctions, raising fears of a new conflict on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim said it was imperative to lower military tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improve ties with the South, adding that the path to dialogue was open.
Kim said he would consider sending a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February.
"North Korea's participation in the Winter Games will be a good opportunity to show unity of the people and we wish the Games will be a success," Kim said. "Officials from the two Koreas may urgently meet to discuss the possibility."
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has said North Korea's participation will ensure safety of the Pyeongchang Olympics and proposed last month that Seoul and Washington postpone large military drills that the North denounces as a rehearsal for war until after the Games.
(Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang, Editing by Kim Coghill and Michael Perry)
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