North Korea celebrates year of ‘self-defence’ successes, but ties with US lowest since Korean war

In the first month of Donald Trump’s presidency, an American scholar quietly met North Korean officials and relayed the message that the new administration in Washington appreciated an extended halt in the North’s nuclear and missile tests.
But the North Koreans responded by saying the nearly four-month period of quiet wasn’t a sign of conciliation and supreme leader Kim Jong-un would order tests whenever he wanted. As if to emphasise the point, two days later Pyongyang…