North Korea has struck again in its nuclear-fueled war of words

with the U.S., this time warning Washington that its latest military
developments give supreme leader Kim Jong Un unprecedented
clout amid the current crisis.

North Korea's state-run media ran a series of articles on Friday

threatening to meet any further U.S. military expansion in the
region with an opposing show of force. After North Korea
successfully tested its first two intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBMs), in July and conducted its first hydrogen bomb test earlier
this month, it launched a second intermediate-range ballistic
missile (IRBM), over Japan on Friday. As President Donald Trump
and allies continue to demand the total denuclearization of North
Korea, Pyongyang struck back against talk of bringing back U.S.
tactical nukes to the Korean Peninsula.

Related: North Korea launches missile as Defense Secretary

James Mattis inspects U.S. nuclear arsenal
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"The attempt of the U.S. to deploy tactical nuclear weapons into
south Korea and develop up-to-date miniaturized nuclear bombs
is targeted at its strategic rivals in the region as well as the DPRK,
and it will increase the tension in the Korean Peninsula and the
region and instigate intense arms race," the North Korean Ministry
of Foreign Affairs' Institute of American Studies said in a
statement, referring to the country by its official title: the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The nuclear threat of the U.S. which is growing more vicious

propels the DPRK to continuous development of all means of
counterattack including tactical nuclear weapons to the highest
level at a maximum speed and to faster deployment of these
means ready for battle," it added, according to the official Korean
Central News Agency (KCNA).
Pedestrians walk in front of a large video screen in Tokyo broadcasting a
news report showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, following a North
Korean missile test that passed over Japan on September 15. The
unprecedented advancement and pace of North Korea's recent military
activity has drawn sharp criticism from the U.S. and its allies.TORU
YAMANAKA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The U.S. once maintained an arsenal of about 100 tactical nuclear
weapons in South Korea. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush
withdrew all nuclear assets stationed abroad, according to The
Washington Post. This could change, however, as mounting
tensions in the region reportedly compelled the South Korean
defense minister to appeal to his U.S. counterpart for a
redeployment of such weapons.
South Korea President Moon Jae-in rejected this notion, however,
seemingly agreeing with his northern rival that such a move could
"lead to a nuclear arms race in northeast Asia," CNN reported.
North Korea has been extremely critical of the U.S.'s close
relationship with South Korea, with which the North has technically
been at war since the 1950s. In a commentary published Friday
by government newspaper Rodong Sinmun, North Korea
dismissed the U.S.'s efforts to lead the international community in
punishing Kim Jong Un's government with economic sanctions,
and claimed it is now invulnerable to U.S. tactics because of its
weapons capable of delivering a devastating nuclear strike to
major U.S. cities.
"The U.S. might have complex mental state due to its consecutive
setbacks in the confrontation with the DPRK, but it has to draw a
lesson and make a correct judgment," the commentary read,
according to KCNA.

"Whatever means and methods the U.S. may employ, they will
never work on the DPRK," it added. "The U.S. fate is in the hands
of the DPRK."
A map locates the track of intermediate-range ballistic missiles fired by North
Korea over Japan on August 29 and September 15.FLANDERS MARINE
INSTITUTE/U.S. FORCES JAPAN/U.S. FORCES KOREA/U.S. DEPARTMENT
OF DEFENSE/REUTERS
Like his predecessors, Trump does not recognize North Korea's
claim that it has the right to possess nuclear weapons, which Kim
and his government argue are necessary to prevent a U.S.
invasion. China and Russia have also called on North Korea to
abandon its nuclear testing, but have been more vocally critical of
what they perceive to be an invasive U.S. foreign policy in the
region.
Following Friday's North Korean missile launch, Defense
Secretary James Mattis said he "immediately" went to the U.S.
Strategic Command's operations center in Omaha, Nebraska,
where he was visiting at the time. The site oversees the U.S.'s
nuclear forces.

"Steady as she goes," Mattis reportedly said about the launch.

In a deterrent, you can leave no doubt at all," he earlier told
reporters, on Wednesday, "Don't try it. It won't work. You can't
take us out."