North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has asked the country’s military to improve its capabilities to the point where it is ready for war, North Korean news agency KCNA.

Kim made the remarks in a speech at a conference of battalion commanders held in Pyongyang on Friday.

The North Korean leader stressed that the threatening nature of the US and its allies, including South Korea, and the military confrontation with North Korea have brought tensions on the Korean Peninsula to the “worst phase in history,” calling for war preparations, according to KCNA.