North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong has claimed that the North came to have nuclear deterrence in the face of what it calls the U.S.’s hostile policy and military pressure against the North.
 
Choe Myung-nam a foreign ministry official accompanying Ri to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), said Ri made such remarks at the ARF held on Sunday in Myanmar’s capital of Naypyidaw.
 
Over the criticism about the North’s latest launches of short-range missiles, Ri denounced the South Korea-U.S.  joint annual military drill. He asked participants of the regional forum to compare which military exercise being carried out on the Korean Peninsula is larger in scale and more threatening.
 
As a way to stop war and ensure peace on the peninsula and surrounding regions, Ri proposed a federation-style unification. He said there would be no clashes in the unification process with the system involving two different institutions existing within a federation.
 
Asked if North Korea will carry out a fourth nuclear test, Choe said the North will continue to exert efforts to boost its nuclear deterrence to respond to the U.S.’s nuclear threats.
 
On Seoul’s Dresden Initiative that sets out President Park Geun-hye's visions for unification, Choe said the plan is of no help in promoting reconciliation, unity and trust on the Korean Peninsula. Asked if the North will take part in the Incheon Asian Games, Choe only said his country will closely watch the attitudes of South Korean authorities.
 
Meanwhile, Ri held bilateral talks with his counterparts from China and Japan on the sidelines of the ARF.
 
The talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi mark the first meeting the two have held since Ri became foreign minister in April. They are likely to have discussed bilateral ties between the two countries and the North’s nuclear issue.