On Monday, North Korea issued a statement from an unidentified Foreign Ministry spokesman saying the country would not be deterred from developing nuclear weapons.

“The nuclear force is the treasured sword of justice and the most reliable war deterrence to defend the socialist motherland and the life of its people,” said the state-run Korean Central News Agency, quoting the spokesman.

As North Korea has accelerated its weapons programs, it has also ratcheted the virulence of its propaganda. In 2013, Uriminzokkiri released a video depicting attacks on New York and Washington.

“Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing,” that video intoned. “It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself.”