North Korea calls on US to give up dreams that Pyongyang will abandon nuclear weapons

North Korea will continue enhancing its nuclear defensive potential and the United States should put up with the idea that Pyongyang won’t give up these weapons, its Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, TASS reports.

"We will further consolidate our self-defensive nuclear deterrence aimed at eradicating the US nuclear threats and establishing the balance of force with it," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Pyongyang is developing its nuclear weapons to protect its sovereignty and people’s lives against "the blackmail of American imperialists," it said. "The US should not forget that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has rapidly emerged as a strategic state capable of posing a substantial nuclear threat to the US mainland."

"If the US wants to live in safety, it needs to stop its hostile policy against the DPRK. It should also give up dreams that we will abandon our nuclear weapons," the ministry said.