U.S. State candidate "should put U.S. interests first"..."Kim Jong-un uses nuclear weapons power maintenance insurance"

[Anchor]
During Trump's second Cabinet confirmation hearing filled with loyalists, U.S. Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio said he would put U.S. interests above all else.

North Korean State Councilor Kim Jong-un also pointed out that he is using nuclear weapons as insurance to maintain power, and all candidates at the confirmation hearing have put their energy on Trump's "America First."

This is Washington correspondent Hong Sang-hee.

[Reporter]
U.S. Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, a popular hardliner, said China has become a global superpower with lies and deceit, stressing that the U.S. should also put its core interests first.

Dictators in Russia, Iran and North Korea have said they are encouraging chaos and instability, and the postwar world order is now against the United States.

[Marko Rubio/U.S. Secretary of State Candidate: The postwar world order is not just outdated, it's a weapon against us. It is not isolationism that prioritizes core national interests.

North Korean State Councilor Kim Jong-un said he is using nuclear weapons as an insurance policy to maintain power, and that he failed to stop North Korea's nuclear development during Trump's first term, but he has calmed the situation.

It also helped Trump's argument that wealthy developed countries should contribute more to the sharing of defense costs between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and NATO.

Also targeting China, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who is also a hardliner on the public and North Korea, pointed out that North Korea also destabilizes U.S. security.

[John Ratcliffe/CIA Director Candidate: We are facing the most difficult national security environment in the history of the United States. The CCP is trying to dominate the world economically and technologically and militarily, while North Korea remains a destabilizing force for U.S. security.

Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi, nominated after Matt Gates, who was dropped on charges of buying underage sex, stressed that the Justice Department would end its political weaponization.

[Pam Bondi / U.S. Attorney General Candidate: The weaponization of the Justice Department that we've seen over the past four years has happened to Trump. They have targeted and chased Donald Trump since 2016.]

Regarding the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021, he also expressed loyalty to Trump, saying it was a peaceful transfer of power.

Major cabinet candidates who attended the confirmation hearing spoke out in unison to Trump's pledge to practice America First.

Of the 100 Senate members, 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, most of the candidates are expected to pass the confirmation unless there is a breakaway vote. The Democratic Party is expected to make all-out efforts to drop the nominee for defense secretary, Hegseth.

I'm Hong Sang-hee from Washington.