North Korean leader says past diplomacy only confirmed US hostility

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaking during a defence exhibition in Pyongyang (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward Pyongyang and described his nuclear build-up as the only way to counter external threats, state media said on Friday.

Mr Kim spoke on Thursday at a defence exhibition where North Korea displayed some of its most powerful weapons systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the US mainland, the North’s Korean Central News Agency said.