N.Korea poses 'substantial' threat to US: Kim

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un insists "nobody can deny" the threat his country poses to the U.S., according to state media Friday.

Celebrating the North's development of nuclear weapons in defiance of the UN, including last month's latest long-range missile test, Kim was speaking at a Workers' Party conference a day earlier.

Pyongyang's KCNA news agency said he described North Korea as having "rapidly emerged as a strategic state capable of posing a substantial nuclear threat to the U.S."

Kim's remarks follow mixed signals from Washington on how American President Donald Trump plans to his promise to "take care of" the North.

While U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered unconditional talks with Pyongyang earlier this month, he quickly backtracked and realigned with Washington's policy of allowing sanctions to bite -- insisting that good behavior must come before dialogue.

But with less than 50 days until South Korea hosts the Winter Olympics, Seoul is pushing to defuse tensions early.

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung- reiterated to reporters Friday Seoul is willing to talk to the North without conditions.

The South's President Moon Jae-in also said earlier this week he has proposed delaying military drills with the U.S. until after the Games as long as North Korea refrains from conducting any provocations.