Pyongyang, North Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to use nuclear weapons if his country's sovereignty was threatened, Pyongyang's state media reported on Friday.

North Korea's military "would use without hesitation all the offensive forces it possesses, including nuclear weapons," Kim said during a visit to an army training base on Wednesday, state-controlled KCNA news agency reported.

"If such a situation comes, the permanent existence of Seoul and the Republic of Korea would be impossible," he threatened.

Images showed Kim, clad in his customary leather jacket, speaking at a training event for special operations forces. There, he slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for "clamoring" about his country's alliance with the US.

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On Tuesday, had warned North Korea that any attempt to use nuclear weapons would be mean the end of Kim's regime. Seoul also staged a military parade showcasing its bunker-busting "monster" missile.

In September, Kim revealed a uranium enrichment facility and expressed his desire to "exponentially" expand the country's nuclear weapons arsenal.

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

Relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in years, with petty back-and-forth provocations over the border threatening to deteriorate into outright conflict.