PYONGYANG, North Korea—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will not use its nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty is invaded and announced a five-year economic plan at a milestone congress of North Korea’s ruling party, which entered its third day Sunday.
Kim said he is ready to improve ties with “hostile” nations, and called for more talks with rival South Korea to reduce misunderstanding and distrust. He also urged the United States to stay away from inter-Korean issues.
“Our republic is a responsible nuclear state that, as we made clear before, will not use nuclear weapons first unless aggressive hostile forces use nuclear weapons to invade on our sovereignty,” Kim said in a roughly three-hour speech shown Sunday on the North’s Korean Central Television. Kim is believed to have delivered the speech at Pyongyang’s April 25 House of Culture the day before, but its content wasn’t made public until early Sunday.
