North Korea leader Kim Jong Un told a meeting of ruling party officials on Tuesday that there "will never" be denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula should the U.S. continue with sanctions and its "hostile" policy toward the reclusive nation state, North Korea state TV reported.
"He said that we will never allow the impudent U.S. to abuse the DPRK-U.S. dialogue for meeting its sordid aim but will shift to a shocking actual action to make it pay for the pains sustained by our people so far and for the development so far restrained," the Korean Central News Agency said.
The "5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea" was held in the capital city of Pyongyang where Kim expressed his impatience with the slow pace of nuclear-disarmament negotiations with the U.S. Kim told the ruling party officials that their country would never give up its security for economic benefits.
Kim Jong Un says he’s ready to take "shocking actual action."
Tensions between the U.S. and North Korea have ratcheted up in recent months following the collapse of talks in February in Hanoi. However, a second historic meeting was held at the DMZ where President Trump crossed into North Korea. Another round of talks followed in October, but those broke down. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told ABC's "This Week" that the U.S. and North Korea had open channels of communication, but did not specify what those might be.
President Donald Trump told reporters at his annual New Years Eve party at Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Florida that he has a "very good relationship" with Kim.
"He likes me, I like him, we get along," Trump said. "He did sign an agreement talking about denuclearization. ... I think he's a man of his word, so we're going to find out."
Kim also told party officials the country would be unveiling a "new strategic weapon" in the near future.
"The DPRK will steadily develop necessary and prerequisite strategic weapons for the security of the state until the U.S. rolls back its hostile policy," the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Kim gave the U.S. an end-of-year deadline to reduce economic sanctions on his country or face repercussions. U.S. officials expected a nuclear or missile test, but the promised 'Christmas Gift' from Kim failed to materialize and the deadline passed with no tests of any kind.
Photo: Getty Images