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Statements issued following a meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party called nuclear weapons "the nation's life" that won't be traded even for "billions of dollars,” The Associated Press reported Sunday.
The comments came on the heels of Saturday's declaration of a "state of war" with South Korea, and a recent cyber attack on that country's media and banking digital infrastructure.
"I think we have to monitor them very carefully, see where their troop movements are, see if anything has changed behind the scenes," said Rep. David Engel, D-N.Y., about where the "red line" might be for U.S. action against North Korea on Weekends with Alex Witt Sunday. "We can pretty much tell whether it's rhetoric or bluster or really if it's real."
Rep. Engel, who has twice visited North Korea, also expressed concern over the black market sale of nuclear technology to Iran and the threat of chemical weapons in the hands of "an irrational leadership."
Thursday, the U.S. deployed a pair of nuclear capable bombers to South Korea as part of a military exercise.