Anchor: North Korea is holding a congress of its ruling party for the first time in more than three decades. At the rare gathering, leader Kim Jong-un claimed that North Korea is a nuclear state and it would not use atomic weapons first unless its sovereignty is violated.
Our Kim Bum-soo wraps up what happened at the big event in Pyongyang over the weekend.

Report: During a three-hour speech summarizing his regime's key accomplishments, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un highlighted the nuclear experiments in 2013 and 2016.

At the seventh congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea over the weekend, the young leader claimed that North Korea is already a nuclear state. 

Pyongyang's Korean Central Television on Sunday broadcast the speech, during which Kim reaffirmed the dual pursuit of nuclear and economic developments as his ruling party's official strategy.

[Sound bite: N. Korean leader Kim Jong-un] 
"As a responsible nuclear state, our republic will not preemptively use an atomic weapon unless our sovereignty is violated."
"Our party’s new parallel policy is not a temporary response to fast-changing political situations, but a strategic line that we will pursue permanently for maximum benefits of revolution."

As he claimed that the North as a nuclear state will join global non-proliferation efforts, Kim said he will further strengthen the nation's nuclear capabilities.

He sought to justify his nuclear ambitions, blaming the U.S.'s hostile policies against his regime as the reason for its atomic arsenal. While calling for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula, he demanded peace treaty negotiations with Washington.

[Sound bite: N. Korean leader Kim Jong-un] 
"[The U.S.] should withdraw its hostile policy toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, replace the Armistice Treaty with a peace treaty and pull out its invasion troops and war equipment from South Korea."

Regarding inter-Korean relations, Kim proposed military talks with South Korea on the precondition that the South suspends its propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the demilitarized zone.

As the rare congress continued in Pyongyang on Monday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) and other state media reported that the ruling party adopted a concluding report officially raising Kim's level to the "highest leadership position." 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.