North Korea's foreign ministry lashed out at the U.S. and its partners this week for their renewed calls for denuclearization, once again declaring that its nuclear weapons status is “permanent.”

State media released new utopian propaganda posters to urge the public to work harder, laying the groundwork to declare the successful completion of regime goals under its soon-to-expire five-year plan.

And top officials of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament adopted new laws while maintaining a new line of even stronger secrecy on government affairs.

The following is a review of the most