Alwaght- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called the country’s nuclear weapons “a powerful deterrent” against US “nuclear threats”.
“The nuclear weapons of the DPRK are a precious fruition borne by its people’s bloody struggle for defending the destiny and sovereignty of the country from the protracted nuclear threats of the US imperialists. And they are a powerful deterrent firmly safeguarding the peace and security in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia,” Kim Jong-un said at a Central Committee session on Saturday, as cited by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Addressing what he called a “complicated international situation,” Kim said that nuclear weapons guarantee North Korea’s sovereignty and “rights to existence,” calling them “a treasured sword of justice to remove the nuclear clouds of tyranny bringing a horrible disaster to mankind and make it possible for the people to lead an independent and happy life under the clear and blue sky.”
At around the same time as Kim Jong-un’s address, US President Donald Trump commented that any negotiations with Pyongyang would be pointless, tweeting 25 years of diplomatic approaches to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have not yielded any results.
He went on to say, “Only one thing will work,” but did not elaborate.
Trump’s statements came just a week after he said that US State Secretary Rex Tillerson was “wasting his time trying to negotiate with ‘Little Rocket Man,’” referring to Kim Jong-un.
The US and North Korean leaders have been engaged in saber-rattling for several months raising the specter of nuclear war.
The current tensions on the Korean Peninsula started following increased provocations by the US, including military drills and deployment of warships and submarines in the region.
Pyongyang insists that developing its military defenses including nuclear weapons is important to counter incessant provocations by the US including a possible nuclear aggression.
