North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for scaling up weapons-grade nuclear materials to increase the country's nuclear arsenal, saying it should be fully ready to use the weapons at any time, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

His remarks suggest he will continue provocative weapons tests in a pressure campaign to wrest concessions from the US and its allies. The parade on Monday night was to mark the 90th anniversary of North Korea’s army and was held as the country’s economy is battered by pandemic-related difficulties, punishing US-led sanctions and its own mismanagement.