North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday claimed his country was in the “closing phase” of preparations for an intercontinental ballistic missiles test, raising the possibility for a major provocation in time for government changes in Seoul and Washington.

In his live New Year address, the young ruler said the country made a “groundbreaking breakthrough” from a series of nuclear and missile tests last year, threatening to beef up its capabilities for a “preemptive nuclear attack” unless South Korea and the US halt joint war exercises. 

“To cope with the imperialists’ increasingly atrocious threats of a nuclear war, our first test of a hydrogen bomb, test-firing of various means of attack and test-explosions of nuclear warheads were conducted successfully,” Kim said via the official Korean Central Television.

“And also with active research and development projects on cutting-edge arms and equipment, the preparations for the test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic rocket have reached a closing phase.”

His remarks boosted speculation the communist state may test the KN-08 ICBM, thought to be capable of flying up to 13,000 kilometers. 

Pyongyang unveiled the weapon during a military parade in October 2015 marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party, touting it as a “strategic rocket equipped with varied, miniaturized nuclear warheads.”

Last March, state media released an image of Kim inspecting what it claimed to be a miniaturized fission device on display alongside the KN-08.

Debate has been fierce over the North’s ICBM progress. Washington’s Defense Department has said it is already being deployed and capable of hitting the US mainland, whereas Seoul’s Defense Ministry remains skeptical given a lack of test launches and other evidence.

Thae Yong-ho, who was the North’s No. 2 man at its embassy in London until his defection to the South last summer, said last week that the country aims to complete the nuclear development by the end of 2017 to coincide with the leadership transitions in Seoul and Washington.

Kim, who took power in December 2011, has delivered his New Year speech since 2013 and state media began live broadcast last year.

This year’s message came ahead of the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the US president. He has yet to unveil his North Korea policy framework but expressed his willingness to meet Kim during the campaign period.

But Kim fell short of directly referring to Trump, simply repeating Pyongyang’s long-festering demand for an end to the joint military drills and what it calls hostile policy.

Kim stressed the need to invent more of “our own, self-reliant weapons,” indicating the sustained building of a submarine launched ballistic missile, cyber and other asymmetrical warfare capabilities.

“The US must look squarely at the Korean people’s resolve for a unification, no longer stick to alienation plots to instigate a war with the anti-unification forces in the South, and make a resolute decision to withdraw the anachronistic hostile policy (toward the North),” he said.

“As long as the US and its follower forces’ nuclear threats and blackmail last, and as long as they remove what they call ‘regular’ war exercise fuss, we will continue to strengthen our self-defensive and preemptive strike capabilities centering on nuclear power.”

As for Seoul, he mentioned President Park Geun-hye by name, denouncing her as “anti-unification and a traitor” whose ruling foundations were “shaken from the root because of a robust public anti-government fight.”

“Last year’s nationwide struggle, which left a trail in the history of the southern people’s struggles, was an explosion of grudges and anger deeply built toward the conservative government that had been engaged in fascist rule, anti-people policy, toadyism, selling the nation and fratricidal confrontation,” Kim said.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)