North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected a facility that produces nuclear material and called for bolstering the country’s nuclear capability, state media reported Wednesday, as the North looks to increase pressure on the United States following the inauguration of U.

A North Korean media outlet says the country's leader Kim Jong Un has visited a nuclear weapons institute and a base where nuclear material is produced.

U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast on Thursday that he plans to seek to engage North Korean leader Kim Jong Un anew after the two men developed a working relationship in Trump's first term.

Kim Jong Un, who Trump lauded as a "smart guy," has become Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key ally in a war against Ukraine, providing ballistic missiles, artillery, and 12,000 troops.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for bolstering nuclear forces this year during a visit to the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, state media KCNA said on Wednesday.

Kim Jong-un has inspected a nuclear-material production base and a nuclear weapons institute, emphasizing that strengthening the nuclear shield is "indispensable" amid a long-term confrontation with "the most vicious hostile countries.

Kim Jong Un vowed North Korea's nuclear program would continue "indefinitely" just days after Trump said he would make renewed diplomatic moves to the leader.