North Korean leader orders more nuclear tests

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is ordering his country to conduct more nuclear tests, the country’s official news agency reported Friday.

“Dear comrade Kim Jong Un said work … must be strengthened to improve nuclear attack capability and issued combat tasks to continue nuclear explosion tests to assess the power of newly developed nuclear warheads and tests to improve nuclear attack capability,” KNCA said, according to Reuters.

{mosads}Kim reportedly made the order after watching a recent ballistic missile test. The report did not say when the test took place, but North Korea has launched multiple short-range rockets into the sea in recent weeks. The most recent launch was Thursday.

Kim’s rhetoric has grown increasingly provocative as U.S. and South Korean troops conduct large-scale military exercises and following the imposition of tough new United Nations sanctions against Pyongyang.

The U.N. sanctions were in response to North Korea’s nuclear test in January and long-range missile test in February.

Kim also claimed this week to be able to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on a ballistic missile.

Adm. William Gortney, commander of U.S. Northern Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that while the intelligence community thinks the probability of that being true is low, missile defenses in North America are prepared for it nonetheless.

“I assess, as the commander there, that it’s the prudent decision on my part to assume that he has the capability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon and put it on an ICBM,” Gortney said, referring to an intercontinental ballistic missile.

“Intel community gives it a very low probability of success, but I do not believe the American people want to base my readiness assessment on a low probability,” he added.