North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated a vow to bolster his country’s “nuclear war deterrent” and build more powerful military capabilities, state-run media said Wednesday, as the country closed out a rare ruling party congress intended to set the stage for the regime's near-term policies.
The congress, just the second in four decades, saw Kim lay out his plans for the country’s economic, military and diplomatic initiatives over the next five years. It also concluded just over a week before U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration.
Denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington have remained deadlocked since negotiations collapsed over disagreements on what North Korea was willing to give up in exchange for relief from crushing U.N. sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programs.