North Korea Defends Nuclear Program Against G-7 Criticism.

North Korea's foreign minister criticized the G-7's recent call for the country's denuclearization, calling the group a "tool for ensuring the U.S. hegemony." The G-7 had jointly condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile tests and reiterated their commitment to the goal of North Korea's complete abandonment of its nuclear weapons. North Korea has been hit with 11 rounds of U.N. sanctions because of its past nuclear and ballistic missile tests banned by U.N. Security Council resolutions.