North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a defiant speech at a military parade on Monday night, vowing to ramp up the country's nuclear arsenal.
The parade, to mark the armed forces' founding anniversary, also displayed banned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
In March, North Korea tested its largest-known ICBM for the first time since 2017.
It sparked wide condemnation from the international community.
The US also imposed several sanctions on the country after the test. ICBMs, designed for nuclear arms delivery, extend North Korea's strike range as far as the US mainland.
The parade also featured submarine-launched ballistic missiles in addition to hypersonic missiles.
However, Mr Kim has been undeterred by the condemnation so far.
"We will continue to take steps to strengthen and develop our nation's nuclear capabilities at the fastest pace," he said, adding that their nuclear forces "must be ready" to be exercised anytime, according to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea's nuclear weapons were fundamentally a deterrence tool against war but could be used for other means, he said, echoing previous rhetoric that the country would strike back if attacked.
Kim Jong-un wants North Korea to be accepted as a legitimate nuclear state. He also wants the crippling sanctions on his country to be lifted. But he knows neither are likely to happen.
Diplomacy with the US has stalled. President Biden has said he will only look at lifting sanctions if North Korea agrees to give up its nuclear weapons. Kim Jong-un has responded by forging ahead with his nuclear programme, testing an array of increasingly sophisticated weapons.
North Korea has always claimed the reason it has nuclear weapons is to prevent a war. But recently it has started to talk about using these weapons in battle. This was the suggestion in Mr Kim's speech, when he vowed that any military seeking confrontation with North Korea would "cease to exist".
But this show of force is as much about bolstering his popularity as it is his security. North Korea is not just isolated from the international community. It sealed itself off from the world during the pandemic, and its economy is in a bad way. Weapons are one area where Mr Kim can show his people he is making progress.
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