SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un condemned South Korean-U.S. military drills and vowed a rapid expansion of his nuclear forces to counter rivals, state media said Tuesday, as he inspected his most advanced warship being fitted with nuclear-capable systems.

Now 95 years old and living in South Korea, Ahn Hak-seop longs to return to North Korea so he can die there. There’s just one problem: no one is certain if North Korea will actually take him.

Since talks collapsed between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, in 2019, North Korea’s reckless drive for long-range nuclear capabilities has fueled tensions on the Korean Peninsula to new heights.

South Korea and the United States began their annual large-scale joint military exercise on Monday to better cope with threats by nuclear-armed North Korea. Pyongyang has warned the drills