International

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is defiantly calling his country's nuclear weapons program a "treasured sword" to protect it against aggression, even as U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continue to pressure his regime.
     Pyongyang's state media reported that Kim on Saturday told the powerful Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party the nuclear weapons were a "powerful deterrent" guaranteeing the country's sovereignty against what he described as "protracted nuclear threats of the U.S. imperialists."
     But he acknowledged that North Korea's standoff with the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries over its nuclear weapons development was a "complicated international situation."Kim vowed to continue developing the country's economy as it advanced North Korea's weapons program in the face of stiffened United Nations sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang's export income. He said North Korea faces "ordeals" under a "stern" situation, but claimed its economy has grown.
     Kim tightened his family's firm grip on the government, promoting his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to be an alternate member of the politburo, the top decision-making body over which Kim Jong Un presides.