DHAKA: Kim Jong-un has claimed North Korean scientists have developed nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles.

State media published images showing the North’s leader standing next to what it said was a miniaturized weapon, reports the BBC.

The claim is impossible to verify from the images alone and experts have long cast doubt on such assertions.

The North has stepped up its bellicose rhetoric in response to the UN imposing some of its toughest sanctions.

The move by the Security Council came after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test and launched a satellite, both of which broke existing sanctions.

In recent days, Pyongyang has threatened to launch an ‘indiscriminate’ nuclear strike on the US and South Korea, as they began their largest ever round of annual military exercises.

The drills, known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, routinely generate tension.

BDST: 1240 HRS, MAR 09, 2016
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