This photo, taken on Dec. 28, 2022, shows Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup speaking during a parliamentary session at the National Assembly in Seoul. Yonhap

The defense ministry warned Sunday that any attempt by North Korea to use nuclear weapons would lead to the "end" of its regime, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an "exponential" increase in the country's nuclear arsenal.

The North Korean leader made the call during a recent plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, where the country reiterated its push to strengthen nuclear weapons capabilities while naming the South "our undoubted enemy."

"We gravely warn that should North Korea make an attempt at using nuclear arms, it would lead to the end of the Kim Jong-un regime," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.

The ministry urged the North to immediately stop its nuclear development and return to a path of denuclearization, while calling on it to clearly realize such a course correction would be the "only way" to improve its people's livelihoods.