Choe Son-hui, then vice-foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, poses for a photo ahead the welcome ceremony of the DPRK leader Kim Jong-un (not pictured) at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi, Vietnam on March 1, 2019. (LUONG THAI LINH / POOL / AFP)

SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea appointed a key nuclear negotiator, Choe Son-hui, as its new foreign minister, state media said on Saturday, as the country concluded a ruling party meeting chaired by leader Kim Jong-un.

Kim presented goals to boost the country's military power and defense research to protect the DPRK's sovereign rights, state news agency KCNA reported, but it did not give details.

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"The right to self-defense is an issue of defending sovereignty, clarifying once again the Party's invariable fighting principle of power for power and head-on contest," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

The Plenary Meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was convened on Wednesday through Friday, KCNA said.