DPRK vows never to change policy of bolstering nuclear, missile capabilities

PYONGYANG, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Saturday that it will never change its policy of developing nuclear and missile capabilities as a means to counter threats from the United States.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a detailed report on the situation of the Korean peninsula this year, accusing the United States of being culpable for the dangerous tension there.

It said that the Donald Trump administration "has resorted to the hard-line hostile policy toward the DPRK, the degree of which dwarfs the policies of the former administrations."

"Our party and state ...clarified the principled stand that it would continue bolstering the capabilities for self-defense and preemptive attack with the nuclear force as the pivot, as long as the U.S. and its vassal forces persist in nuclear threat and blackmail," said the KCNA.

The report also listed chronically the events which marked the nuclear and missile crisis this year.

The DPRK has detonated a hydrogen bomb and test-fired ballistic missiles this year, including three intercontinental ballistic missiles, which drew sanctions by the United Nations Security Council.

The "Hwasong 15" test-fired by the country last month was said to be able to hit the whole territory of the United States. Enditem