North Korea Claims Possessing Miniature Nuke Warheads

North Korea has claimed that it has made miniature nuclear warheads enough to fit on ballistic missiles.

At a meeting with nuclear scientists and technicians, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said that his country has made a nuclear bomb lighter and achieved its "standardization," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The nuclear warheads have been standardized to be fit for ballistic missiles by miniaturizing them," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA. "This can be called true nuclear deterrent," Yonhap news reported Wednesday.

It marked the first time that the North's leader directly commented on the country's advances in miniaturizing nuclear warheads.

North Korea has made efforts to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching as far as the US mainland, and the country has insisted that it entered the technological phase to miniaturize and even diversify its nuclear bombs.

"A repeat of such provocative threats is an unforgivable challenge to the international community especially at a time when strong UNSC sanctions are being implemented against North Korea's fourth nuclear test and missile launch," the defense ministry said in a statement.

"The ministry does not think the North has a miniaturized nuclear warhead, and nor does it have the ability to deploy the KN-08 for actual use," the statement said.