North Korea says its nuclear weapons designed for combat use, not 'bargaining items'

North Korea said Saturday its nuclear weapons have been designed for combat use, not "bargaining items" amid tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang said in a commentary published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), that its nuclear force is not for negotiations but for combat use, after the US said Washington would seek "complete denuclearization of North Korea," under President Donald Trump,

"Our nuclear force is not something that can be advertised to earn recognition from anybody and not even bargaining items that can be exchanged for a few pennies," said KCNA.

"Our country's nuclear forces are for constant combat use to quickly eliminate any invasion attempts by hostile forces that infringe upon the country's sovereignty and the safety of its people and threaten regional peace," it wrote in the Korean language.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, during a news conference with President Trump on Friday said they affirmed the need to address North Korea's nuclear and missile program, which poses a "serious threat" to Japan, the US and beyond.

"Japan and the US will work together toward the complete denuclearization of North Korea," he said.

Trump said, however, that Washington will have relations with North Korea

NATO and the EU officials reaffirmed they would not accept North Korea as a nuclear power.

North Korea denounced those remarks as "ludicrous."

Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot on North Korean territory in 2019. As part of negotiations with Pyongyang about its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs, he met Kim Jong Un in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea.

North Korea has since carried out missile and nuclear tests, including what it claims was the successful launch of a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile in 2023.