TOKYO (Sputnik) — The Yonhap news agency quoted Kim Jong-un as saying that it was necessary to pay much attention to the creation of a powerful economy, and to national unification with South Korea.
In 2003, Pyongyang withdrew from the international Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a deal that was intended to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons manufacturing and possible use. Following Pyongyang's withdrawal, the so-called Six-Party Talks were launched to ease the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons program through negotiations involving Russia, China, the United States, South Korea and Japan.
In 2005, North Korea declared itself a nuclear power, and conducted several nuclear weapon tests, sparking concerns in the international community. Almost four years later, Pyongyang tested additional nuclear weapons and, without warning, walked out of the Six-Party Talks.
The official data on the country's nuclear program is not released, and the research on the issue is based on external observations and reports made by North Korean authorities.
