Korea

North Korea: Nuclear deterrent prevents US invasion

North Korea needs nuclear weapons as a deterrent to prevent "invasion and plunder" by the United States, Pyongyang's official media says.    

The online commentary on Wednesday by the Uriminzokkiri website, part of the Korean Central News Agency, also condemned the US and its allies' "crazy escalation of sanctions, pressure, and military threats" against the communist country that "will get them nowhere".

"The nuclear force of the DPRK has become a strong deterrent for firmly protecting peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of Northeast Asia and creditably guaranteeing the sovereignty and the rights to existence and development of the Korean nation," it said, using the acronym for the country's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.   

North Korea is developing its nuclear weapons so it doesn't endure "the tragic situation of the war-torn non-nuclear countries which became the targets of invasion and plunder by the US", it added.