SEOUL, March 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's defense ministry on Wednesday refuted claims by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) that it has successfully miniaturized nuclear warheads small enough to mount on ballistic missiles.
Seoul's defense ministry said in a statement that Pyongyang hasn't secured operational capability for miniaturized nuclear warheads and KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver the warheads, adding that Seoul and Washington are jointly trailing this issue in a precise manner.
The statement came after top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said his country's nuclear warheads "have been standardized to be fit for ballistic missiles" through miniaturization, during his field guidance on nuclear scientists and technicians, according to the DPRK's official KCNA news agency.
Pyongyang tested what it claimed was its first hydrogen bomb on Jan. 6, the fourth of its nuclear detonations. The DPRK launched a long-range rocket, which was condemned by outsiders as a disguised test of ballistic missile technology, on Feb. 7.
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