N.Korea: Kim defies sanctions, vows self-sustainability

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - As the deadlock over talks for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula lingers, North Korean leader has vowed to intensify efforts to make his country's economy more self-reliant in the face of crippling sanctions, local media reported Thursday.

In his remarks carried by South Korean news agency Yonhap, Kim Jong-un said a self-supporting national economy was needed in order "to deal a telling blow to the hostile forces who go with bloodshot eyes miscalculating that sanctions can bring the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] to its knees."

Kim was addressing members of his party's Central Committee during a plenary session on Wednesday.

His remarks come as South Korean President Moon Jae-in was in the U.S. for talks with President Donald Trump which are expected to focus on ways to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table.

"Self-reliance and self-supporting national economy are the bedrock of the existence of our own style socialism, the motive power of its advance and development and the eternal lifeline essential to the destiny of our revolution," Yonhap quoted Kim as telling party members.

U.S. and North Korean leaders held two summit meetings on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula without any major breakthrough.

Their last summit was in Hanoi, Vietnam late February.