Seoul: Kim Jong Un has called for a significant expansion of the country's nuclear arsenal, including the mass production of tactical nuclear weapons and the development of new missiles for nuclear retaliation, according to state media on Sunday.

According to the official KCNA, Kim called for a "rapid increase in the country's nuclear arsenal" in a report delivered at the conclusion of an important party meeting in Pyongyang.

The report said the North needed to "mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons" and develop "another ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) system whose main mission is rapid nuclear retaliatory strike," citing that it US and South Korean claims hostilities.

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Military tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalate sharply in 2022 as the North conducts nearly monthly weapons tests in violation of sanctions, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile ever.

It ended a record-breaking year of launches by launching three short-range ballistic missiles early Saturday and another extremely rare late-night launch at 2:50 am (1750 GMT Saturday), according to Seoul's military. The launch on Sunday was described by official KCNA as a "test-fire of the super-large multiple rocket launcher".

According to Kim in a separate KCNA report, the weapons placed South Korea "completely within attack range and (a) were capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads."

The launches come just days after Seoul dispersed fighter jets in response to Monday's intrusion of five North Korean drones into South Korea's airspace.

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Go Myeong-hyun, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, said North Korea has previously discussed mass-producing nuclear weapons.

North Korea's goal is to produce nuclear weapons in large enough quantities that, even in the absence of aggressive provocation, the United States will at some point be forced to recognize it as a nuclear state, he told AFP. He added, "Kim Jong Un's New Year's message is like, 'Let's play with nuclear weapons.

His message for the new year is that North Korea will not be open to talks and will instead put pressure on South Korea and the United States, especially the United States, by increasing its nuclear capability. In 2022, Kim declared the North an "irreversible" nuclear state and said he wanted his country to have the world's most powerful nuclear power.

He announced "new major goals" for the country's military on Wednesday, without providing any additional details, according to state media.

The report came after a key party meeting in Pyongyang, where Kim and other senior officials laid out their policy objectives for 2023 in key areas such as diplomacy, security and the economy.

The government usually announces the country's domestic and foreign policy priorities for the coming year during its year-end plenary meetings.

Kim used to give a speech on January 1 but recently abandoned the practice in favor of announcing things at the year-end plenary.

Although North Korea's recent missile launches weren't technically impressive, the country ended the year with a bang, according to Leif-Erik Easley, a professor at Iwa University in Seoul.

Nevertheless, the most recent "provocations, including drone incursions, appear to be excessive for deterrence and may be aimed at intimidating South Korea into a softer policy,"

But he predicted that South Korea would intensify efforts to improve its own defense capabilities and readiness in light of Kim's rejection of diplomacy and his threat to build a large number of nuclear weapons.

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China will need to apply more pressure on Pyongyang in 2023 if it does not want regional instability due to an arms race between the two Koreas to arrive at its doorstep.