North Korea claims major nuclear weapons breakthrough with ‘miniaturised’ warheads that can be delivered by missile

North Korea claims it has made a major breakthrough in its nuclear weapons programme, making warheads small enough to fit on missiles.

In a statement issued by its National Defence Commission via the official KCNA news agency, a spokesman said that Kim Jong-un’s secretive state was willing to use the technology to “defend the North” and warned the US not to challenge its military development.

North Korea has boasted of its ability to miniaturise nuclear warheads before, claims which have been met with scepticism from experts and remain unverified.

But it is the first time it has done so since the US’s top commander on the Korean peninsula, General Curtis Scaparrotti, warned last year that he believed North Korea to have “the capability to miniaturise a device and the technology to deliver what they say they have”.

Earlier this month, North Korea claimed to have carried out a successful underwater missile launch test from a submarine, and issued pictures purporting to show the test via state media.

Full article: North Korea claims major nuclear weapons breakthrough with ‘miniaturised’ warheads that can be delivered by missile (The Independent)