North Korea’s Unpleasant “Christmas GIFTS” Revealed

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A Media Round Up by the Price of Business Digital Network, a USA Business Radio Partner.

“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Wednesday he will continue developing his country’s nuclear deterrent and introduce a new strategic weapon in the near future, according to the North’s state-run media KCNA.

“Kim’s remarks came after the United States missed a year-end deadline for a restart of denuclearization talks.

The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped North Korea would ‘choose peace.’

“’So, seeing that reporting publicly, it remains the case that we hope that Chairman Kim will take a different course,’ Pompeo told Fox News in an interview. ‘We’re hopeful that … Chairman Kim will make the right decision – he’ll choose peace and prosperity over conflict and war.’

“Kim convened a rare four-day meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s policy-making committee since Saturday as the United States had not responded to his repeated calls for concessions to reopen negotiations, dismissing the deadline as artificial.

“Kim had warned he might have to seek a ‘new path’ if Washington fails to meet his expectations. U.S. military commanders said Pyongyang’s actions could include the testing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it has halted since 2017, alongside nuclear warhead tests.”

New, bigger and more powerful weapons is not the extent of the North’s announcements, The New York Times is reporting that “North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, said his country no longer felt bound by its self-imposed moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles, its official media reported on Wednesday, the strongest indication yet that the country could soon resume such tests.

“Mr. Kim also said the world would witness a new strategic weapon ‘in the near future,’ according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, though no details were provided.

“North Korea has not conducted a long-range missile test or a nuclear test in more than two years. Mr. Kim had announced his moratorium at a time when he hoped negotiations with the United States — and his budding personal relationship with President Trump — would prompt the United States to begin lifting crippling sanctions.

“Mr. Trump, who has met Mr. Kim three times, has often cited the North’s restraint as a major diplomatic achievement.”