North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un has convened a key meeting of top ruling party officials, state media said Sunday, ahead of a year-end deadline for
Washington to shift its stance on stalled nuclear talks.
![N. Koreas Kim holds top party meeting ahead of US deadline](http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/876822ea0de3cfb2173c9eb0916b622430e7f7c6.jpg)
The plenary session, which opened on Saturday, follows widespread speculation that
Pyongyang is preparing to test an intercontinental ballistic
missile -- as a threatened "Christmas gift" for Washington.
Kim presided over the meeting which discussed a new "transparent, anti-imperialist independent stand", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.