After President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed their close cooperation in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue in a bilateral summit last week, Pyongyang has reasserted the legitimacy of its nuclear program.
 
In an editorial on Sunday, the North’s state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun claimed the North’s self-defensive military force based on nuclear deterrence continuously lowers the risk of a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula, attributing the claim to military experts.
 
The newspaper argued that the defusing of military tension at the inter-Korean borders in August was also possible due to the North’s military force built on nuclear power.
 
It also asserted that North Korea, with its two-pronged strategy of economic and nuclear development, has made a qualitative leap toward becoming an economic powerhouse and strengthening its military force.