New Delhi, India

Over the last four years, North Korea's military capability has strengthened, even though the country was heavily sanctioned by external actors and countries.

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United States President Donald Trump has attempted to cut off North Korea's economy from the rest of the world, but these efforts have fastened Kim Jong Un's bid to create a military which is self-reliant. During Trump's presidency, North Korea has acquired three different intercontinental ballistic missiles which possess the capability to attack American cities, reported Bloomberg.

Over the last two years, Kim test-launched new rockets in a bid to threaten rivals nearby. Additionally, Kim has commissioned a fleet of trucks that can deploy nuclear weapons. Reports indicate that he is also building a submarine to put warheads in the ocean.

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It's possible that Kim showcases his hard work at the upcoming traditional New Year's Day address or conduct tests of the weapons. What awaits Biden as president is a series of failed American strategies to counter and control Kim.

Also read: China gave Covid-19 vaccine candidate to North Korea's Kim Jong Un: US analyst

Sanctions on the country had deprived North Korea of access to weapons and industrial machinery from external players, but most of Kim's new hardware was developed domestically, Bloomberg claims.

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North Korea may have been hit economically, but its weapons programmes remain untouched. 

The US has demanded denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, which looks far-fetched now given the country has amassed the highest number of nuclear weapons in its history under Kim. Next year in December, Kim will complete ten years in power.

Also read: North Korea's Kim Jong Un initiates 'speed' campaign to ease economic woes; to build thousands of homes

Under Kim, North Korea has developed nuclear bombs, ballistic missiles, military gear, and has also undertaken heavy military research which has equipped the country with the military might previously unheard of.

Earlier this year, a United Nations Security Council expert panel had claimed that North Korea had developed miniature nuclear devices with the capability to fit into ballistic missiles.

The last nuclear detonation undertaken by Kim was in 2017. Experts claim that it was ten times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 by the US.