North Korea has adopted what it called its “most hardline” policy strategy against the U.S. at its year-end major party plenum, claiming Washington and its allies were forcing its hand after encircling the regime with nuclear weapons. 

The plenum occurred at Workers’ Party of Korea headquarters in Pyongyang from Dec. 23-27 and also saw the promotion of Pak Thae Song to premier — Kim Jong Un’s second-in-command. 

State media’s first reporton the plenum slammed the U.S. “anti-communist” posture and called it the “most reactionary national entity” whose alliance with Japan and South Korea has grown into “an aggressive nuclear