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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the regime to develop its nuclear arsenal "indefinitely" during a visit to a nuclear production facility, state-run media reported Wednesday. Photo by KCNA/UPI

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the regime to develop its nuclear arsenal “indefinitely” during a visit to a nuclear production facility, state-run media reported Wednesday. Photo by KCNA/UPI

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for “indefinitely” strengthening his regime’s nuclear weapons capacity, state media reported Wednesday, as Pyongyang continues to demonstrate its growing military prowess amid U.S. President Donald Trump‘s return to the White House.

Kim made the remark as he reviewed the production of weapons-grade nuclear material at a facility and received updates on long-term plans for the sector, state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.

Images released by KCNA show the North Korean leader conferring with a team of officials among long rows of cylindrical centrifuges inside an industrial warehouse. The centrifuges appear similar to those seen in Kim’s September visit to a new uranium enrichment site used to produce fissile materials for nuclear weapons.

“The DPRK’s security situation, the world’s most unstable situation in which a long-term confrontation with the most vicious hostile countries is inevitable, makes it indispensable for the country to steadily strengthen the nuclear shield,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

Kim stressed the need to “achieve epochal successes in overfulfilling the plan for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials.”

“It is our firm political and military stand and invariable noble task and duty to develop the state’s nuclear counteraction posture indefinitely,” Kim said.

North Korea has staged a series of provocations since the beginning of the year, firing what it claims is a new hypersonic missile as well as a salvo of short-range missiles ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Pyongyang’s latest show of nuclear capacity comes amid speculation that Trump may look to revive negotiations with Kim. During his first term, Trump held two high-profile summits with the North Korean leader and met him briefly a third time at the DMZ.

The diplomatic outreach failed to result in a nuclear deal, however, and Pyongyang has accelerated the development of its weapons programs in the intervening years.

On his first day back in the Oval Office, Trump touted his relationship with Kim and surprised allies by acknowledging Pyongyang’s nuclear status.

“I was very friendly with [Kim],” Trump told reporters during a press availability. “He liked me, I liked him. We got along very well.”

“Now, he is a nuclear power,” Trump said. “I think he’ll be happy to see I’m coming back.”

The U.S. president repeated his intention to reach out to Kim in an interview last week with Fox News host Sean Hannity, claiming that he “solved” the problem of the North Korean threat during his first term.

“[Kim] is not a religious zealot,” Trump said. “He happens to be a smart guy.”

Last week, the North declared itself “a responsible nuclear weapons state” at a U.N. disarmament conference in Geneva while blaming the United States for an “astronomical amount of arms buildup and undisguised nuclear proliferation.”

South Korea has been quick to dismiss the possibility of accepting North Korea’s nuclear status, which is granted only to five countries under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT.

“North Korea’s status as a nuclear state cannot be recognized, and North Korea’s denuclearization must continue to be pursued as a prerequisite for permanent peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also around the world,” Seoul’s Defense Ministry said earlier this month.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday that the White House still aims to dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

“President Trump will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term,” National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told the agency.

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