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.
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.