North Korea has unveiled small nuclear warheads that it says can be mounted on short-range missiles.
North Korea has long claimed to have tactical nuclear weapons, capable of hitting targets in South Korea.
But the photos published in his state newspaper on Tuesday are the first time he has provided evidence.
However, it is impossible to verify if this is the real deal. Our guess is until North Korea tests one of these devices. Pyongyang has spent the past two weeks firing a salvo of what it says are nuclear-capable weapons, while simulating nuclear attacks on Seoul.
Admittedly, it’s hard to keep track of North Korean missile launches these days. The individual tests no longer generate headlines like they used to, but if we watch them all together we can learn a lot.
North Korea says it is punishing the United States and South Korea for holding their biggest military drills in years. The Allies were trained to defeat the North in the event of an attack. That is not the scenario that leader Kim Jong Un likes.
Only this is not a typical North Korean demonstration. In the past, they have responded to such exercises by firing a mixture of short, medium and long-range missiles, and perhaps a few shells.
Analyst Ellen Kim, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, described it to me as “the North Korean equivalent of a fashion show” – a nod to the Dior-style jacket Mr Kim’s daughter was spotted wearing to one of the launches.
Analysts, including Ms Kim, are concerned by the diversity of the collection that has been paraded this season. Pyongyang has unveiled new and more sophisticated, weapons, which can be fired from sea and land to target the US, South Korea, and Japan.
In addition to miniaturised warheads, it is yet to demonstrate that its regular warheads can survive a full intercontinental flight. Currently, the North tests long-range missiles by firing them high into space. It also wants to develop a more sophisticated ICBM, that does not need to be fuelled before launch, and so can be fired with less warning.
Yang Uk believes Kim Jong Un is also being driven by a desperate situation at home. With a flailing economy, and his people going hungry, his advancing nuclear weapons programme is “the only card he has left to play”, Yang says.