North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called the country’s nuclear weapons “a powerful deterrent” from US “nuclear threats” for itself and the whole world. The statement came as President Trump once again dismissed the idea of talks with Pyongyang.

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“The nuclear weapons of the DPRK are a precious fruition borne by its people’s bloody struggle for defending the destiny and sovereignty of the country from the protracted nuclear threats of the U.S. imperialists. And they are a powerful deterrent firmly safeguarding the peace and security in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia,” Kim Jong-un said at a Central Committee session on Saturday, as cited by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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Addressing what he called a “complicated international situation,” Kim said that nuclear weapons guarantee North Korea’s sovereignty and “rights to existence,” calling them “a treasured sword of justice to remove the nuclear clouds of tyranny bringing a horrible disaster to mankind and make it possible for the people to lead an independent and happy life under the clear and blue sky.”

Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear program, despite the punitive sanctions imposed by the United Nations (UN). The latest round follows North Korea’s sixth nuclear test in early September. During the speech, Kim called the new sanctions an attempt to completely deprive the country of its sovereignty, and vowed to continue building up its nuclear force and developing its economy.

At around the same time as Kim Jong-un’s address, US President Donald Trump commented that any negotiations with Pyongyang would be pointless, tweeting that 25 years of diplomatic approaches to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions have not yielded any results.

He went on to say that “only one thing will work,” but did not elaborate.

Trump’s statements came just a week after he said that US State Secretary Rex Tillerson was “wasting his time trying to negotiate with ‘Little Rocket Man,’” referring to Kim Jong-un.

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The US and North Korean leaders have been trading barbs and threats for some time now. Trump has been called an “old psychopath” and “war thirsty” by North Korean state media, and the US has been threatened to be reduced to “ashes and darkness,” among other saber-rattling statements. The US president reiterated that Washington would “totally destroy” North Korea if attacked, and ‘Little Rocket Man,’ as he often calls Kim, “won’t be around much longer.”

Russia and China have proposed a ‘double-freeze’ initiative to cool down the crisis. The joint proposal includes the North ceasing nuclear tests and missile launches, while the US and South Korea halt joint military maneuvers in the region. The initiative has been rejected by Washington. In one of the latest moves, the US sent an aircraft carrier along with a guided-missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered submarine to the region to hold joint military exercises with South Korea.