North Korea on Monday showed off its growing arsenal of missiles in one of its largest-ever exhibitions of military gear, as its leader, Kim Jong-un, said he didn’t believe repeated assertions by the US that it harboured no hostile intent towards his country.

The display of might occurred a day after the North marked the 76th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party. It had often celebrated such anniversaries with large military parades.

But this year, it instead staged an indoor exhibition of its missile forces on Monday, and on Tuesday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency carried the text of Kim’s speech at the event.

Kim vowed to further build up his country’s military might.

“The US has signalled it’s not hostile to our state, but there is no action-based evidence to make us believe that they are not hostile,” Kim said.

He called the United States “hypocritical” for helping South Korea boost its missile and other military forces in the name of

“deterring” North Korea — just as it was condemning the North’s own development and tests of missiles as “provocations.” He said his

missiles were for self-defense and peace, not for war, adding that he had no intention of giving them up.

New York Times News Service