Pyongyang is at the "final stage" of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile which could hit the United States with nuclear weapons, South Korea's president said Thursday.

Seoul and its Western allies have failed to stop North Korea's weapons programme and Pyongyang says it will never give up its nuclear arsenal.

"Whether to gain leverage in talks with the United States or to secure its own regime, North Korea has kept developing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) capable of carrying nuclear bombs to the US," President Lee Jae Myung said during a visit to the New York Stock Exchange.

"It does not seem to have succeeded yet, but it is said to be at the final stage, with only the re-entry technology left and that too looks likely to be solved," he said.

Since taking offi

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