North Korea says the U.S. strike on Syria validates its nuclear weapons program

The Trump administration's Thursday strike against a Syrian regime air base in response to Tuesday's chemical weapons attack was "an unforgivable act of aggression against a sovereign state," a statement from North Korea said Saturday.

The strike also justifies Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development program, the statement added: "The reality of today proves our decision to strengthen our military power to stand against force with force was the right choice a million times over." If North Korea is a nuclear state, the logic goes, it will be protected from similar attacks by the United States because the risk of retaliation becomes too great.

These comments come on the heels of President Trump's two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump and Xi "reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean peninsula" and discussed how to "convince North Korea to peacefully resolve the issue and dismantle its illegal nuclear and missile programs."

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