North Korea 'needs nuclear deterrent against US'

A North Korean legislator, on a rare visit to the European Union headquarters, said today that Pyongyang would not be swayed by the international condemnation of North Korea’s nuclear test and would not pay attention to criticism.

Ri Jong Hyok, a member of the North Korean Supreme People’s Assembly, also told EU parliamentarians that the US financial sanctions against his country “suffocate our political system”, and asked the EU for development aid.