North Korea denounced U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday for calling it a "rogue state" and threatened a strong counteraction in the regime's first public criticism of the Trump administration.

Experts say Kim's public demand for more weapons-grade nuclear material is a calculated move to take denuclearisation off the table North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's latest public push to expand his country's nuclear arsenal is part of a calculated move to pressure Washington into accepting arms reduction talks instead of full denuclearisation,

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for "indefinitely" strengthening his regime's nuclear weapons capacity, state media reported Wednesday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a facility that produces nuclear material and called for bolstering the country's nuclear fighting capability, state media reported Wednesday, as the North looks to increase pressure on the United States following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.