Seoul - "Jerusalem" dot com - (dpa) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have lowered the level at which a nuclear strike can be resorted to, raising the risk of miscalculation with regard to the deployment of new weapons whose range of use ranges from tactical strikes. The nearby threat to the US mainland, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

Kim referred to a less stringent policy regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons, during a military parade in Pyongyang that was broadcast on state television on Tuesday evening.

In a speech to tens of thousands of enthralled citizens on Monday night, Kim said that while North Korea's nuclear force was originally intended to "prevent war", it has a "second mission" and "cannot be restricted to one mission only, if There has been an outbreak or an undesirable situation on this earth."

Kim backed up his words with weapons tests designed to evade US missile defenses in Asia and direct warheads into the US mainland.