The belligerent rhetoric of North Korea's regime has risen to new highs in recent days, with Kim Jong Un publicly calling on the military to prepare for war and for the nation's nuclear capabilities to be developed "without limitation."

The state outlet KCNA on Monday quoted Kim as telling senior military and political officers of the Korean People's Army that the nation's enemies are stepping up "frantic" confrontations with North Korea.

"We will strengthen our self-defense power, centered on nuclear forces, without limitations … and ceaselessly," KCNA reported Kim as saying in his address.

He also criticized recent security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan — describing the trilateral alliance as a threat to peace and stability in the region.

Kim accused Washington and the West of using Ukraine as a proxy war to fight Russia and expand their global military dominance.

A KCNA editorial published on Tuesday said Pyongyang reserved the right to carry out "retaliatory responses." It added: "The miserable fates of those who took the first step toward trilateral cooperation demonstrate that the 'era of trilateral cooperation' is a grim era with no future."

While analysts say that the region needs to be vigilant and closely monitor........

© Deutsche Welle