North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has pledged to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities and to pursue the most stringent anti-US measures to date, in a speech given shortly before US President-elect Donald Trump is set to assume office.

During a gathering of the ruling Workers’ Party on Friday, Kim characterized the United States as “the most reactionary state,” asserting that it maintains anti-communism as a fundamental aspect of its policy, as reported by the KCNA news agency.

He further labeled the US alliance with Japan and South Korea as “a nuclear military bloc for aggression,” referring to South Korea as “a blatant anti-communist stronghold of the US.”

In closing, Kim urged for “the most rigorous anti-US counteraction to be launched aggressively by [North Korea] in pursuit of its long-term national interests and security.”

The relationship between Kim and Trump was marked by tension at the beginning of Trump’s first term, with both leaders frequently exchanging personal insults and nuclear threats, including Trump’s warning of a potential attack on Pyongyang with “fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.”

The two leaders ultimately set aside their aggressive rhetoric and engaged in a series of direct meetings. While these summits did not yield any enduring agreements, both the United States and North Korea temporarily reduced their military activities, with Pyongyang decreasing the number of ballistic missile tests until President Joe Biden assumed office in 2021.

Since 2022, Kim’s military has conducted over 100 test launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, including one in September that KCNA reported was equipped with a “super-large” 4.5-ton warhead. A month later, North Korean commanders allegedly instructed frontline artillery units to be fully prepared to fire upon Seoul after South Korean drones released propaganda leaflets over the North Korean capital.

In response, the United States and South Korea have intensified the scale and frequency of their military exercises since 2022, with the latest drills in November featuring an American aircraft carrier alongside South Korean and Japanese fighter jets.

Pyongyang has denounced these exercises, labeling them as “provocative war drills for aggression.”