North Korea Nears De-Escalation Deadline

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his military and diplomats to prepare unspecified “offensive measures” to protect the country’s security and sovereignty as he nears his end-of-year deadline for the Trump administration to make major concessions to salvage a fragile nuclear diplomacy. North Korea’s state media says Kim during the ruling Workers’ Party meeting also stressed improvements in national efforts to rebuild the North’s moribund economy. A South Korean analyst says Kim urgent needs to make policy changes in the face of international sanctions and pressure such as a crackdown on North Korean workers abroad.