'Expect NO mercy' North Korea warns US its nuclear arsenal CANNOT be stopped

The threat is the latest blow in the war of words between the communist kingdom and the US, with tensions between the two states escalating since Mr Trump took over the White House. 

The statement denounced former South Korean leader Park Geun Hye and warned the new regime that it will not back down from the brink of war in the face of aggression.

The Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee (KAPPC) spokesman said: “The South Korean authorities have to draw a serious lesson from the wretched fate of traitor Park Geun Hye, who met a miserable end while vociferating about ‘nuclear threat from the north’ and going keen on hurting the fellow countrymen with the help of outsiders that only seek to inflict nuclear disaster on the nation.

“Those who challenge the dignity and social system of the DPRK, faulting its legitimate step for bolstering the nuclear force for self-defence, should not expect any mercy.”

Pyongyang also expressed its delight following the successful launch of its Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, which it claimed could bring an end to decades of “US imperialism”.

North Korea claimed its sovereignty had been infringed by the policies adopted by the US and its allies in recent weeks but that its nuclear programme would “neither be stopped nor slowed down”.

It added: “The DPRK’s measure for bolstering its capabilities for self-defence is a crucial issue on which hinges the dignity and sovereignty of the country and the destiny of the nation. Such step can neither be stopped nor slowed down with the replacement of administration in the US and the emergence of ‘new regime’ in South Korea.”

North Korea recently claimed the liquid- fuel Hwasong-12 ravelled a distance of 489 miles before breaching Japan’s Air Defence Identification Zone and reached an altitude of 2,111.5 km (1,312 miles) before crashing in to the Sea of Japan.

The missile was fired on May 14.

After confirmation from defence officials the success of the missile has been labelled a “significant breakthrough” for Kim Jong-Un’s hermit state.

North Korean state media said the missile was capable of carrying a “large-size, heavy nuclear warhead.