South Korea has strongly denounced North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s New Year's address, in which he boasted of Pyongyang's advanced preparations to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM).

In a statement on Sunday, Seoul’s Unification Ministry condemned North Korea for its plans for improving its nuclear preemptive striking capabilities. 

The ministry stressed the South Korean government and the international community remain firm against North Korea's nuclear development, warning the North that it will only face tougher sanctions and pressure down that road.

It said if the North wants peace on the Korean Peninsula and improve inter-Korean relations, it should take a path toward denuclearization in a sincere manner.

In the televised New Year's speech Sunday, Kim claimed that the North is in the final stages of preparing to test-fire an ICBM and soars as a nuclear and military power.