Kim Jong Un. Pics/AFP and AP

North Korea yesterday said that it will never give up its nuclear weapons as long as the US and its allies continue their "blackmail and war drills" at its doorstep. The North's official Korean Central News Agency took the oft-repeated stance as it reviewed the country's major nuclear weapons and missile tests this year. North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date in September and launched three intercontinental ballistic missiles into the sea in July and November, indicating that it is closer than ever to gaining a nuclear arsenal that could viably target the mainland US.