North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has threatened to use nuclear weapons if his country is attacked from outside.

North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported today that Kim Jong-un warned that ‘any attack on his country’s sovereignty will be met with an offensive response involving all capabilities, including nuclear weapons’.

Kim made the remarks while inspecting a military training base for special forces west of the capital Pyongyang, the agency said.

South Korean President Yun Suk-yol had earlier warned North Korea that any attempt to use nuclear weapons would face a firm and strong response from Seoul and its ally Washington.

In September, the North Korean leader unveiled a uranium enrichment facility and expressed his desire to significantly expand his country’s nuclear arsenal.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), North Korea currently has around 50 nuclear warheads, although the exact number is unknown.

North Korea is under international sanctions for its nuclear weapons and missile programmes, and conducted its last known nuclear test in 2017.