Μake us preferred on Google North Korea’s foreign minister pledged on Thursday that the country will hold on to its nuclear weapons permanently, brushing aside the South Korean president’s renewed push for a Korean Peninsula without nuclear arms. In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said Pyongyang would keep its arsenal “through all ages,” calling its nuclear status irreversible and permanent. She added that the country’s nuclear status was “irreversible in any case and will remain unchanged forever.”
A screen grab shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspecting nuclear warheads at an undisclosed location in this undated still image used in a video. KRT/via Reuters
A Response to Seoul, Washington and Tokyo
Choe’s comments came one day after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told the UN General Assembly that he wanted to stop Pyongyang’s weapons capabilities from growing further and ultimately achieve a Korean Peninsula “free from nuclear weapons.” Lee, who has made repeated efforts to restart dialogue with the North, also said South Korea would help prepare the ground for resuming long-stalled talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
The statement also targeted a joint position by the three allies. On Monday, the foreign ministers of South Korea, the US and Japan met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, reaffirming their commitment to North Korea’s complete denuclearization and urging Pyongyang to return to talks. The statement was issued by South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
Choe called their denuclearization goal unrealistic and said it showed the three countries’ outdated and confrontational hostility toward North Korea. She argued that the louder the US and its allies call for denuclearization, the more they justify North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons, its efforts to strengthen them and its tougher stance toward its enemies. She described nuclear weapons as the core of national sovereignty and the most reliable guarantee for defending the country’s sovereign rights.
Choe also said that while mixing confrontation and dialogue might work for others, it could never be an option for North Korea. She said the country’s status as a nuclear weapons state was “everlasting,” no matter what hostile forces claimed.
Nuclear Status Written Into Law
Pyongyang has written its status as a nuclear-armed state into law, and its leaders have repeatedly described the country’s nuclear arsenal as permanent and irreversible.
The latest statement comes as diplomatic signals from Washington point toward possible engagement. Last week, Lee said Trump clearly wants to talk with Pyongyang. Trump, who held three meetings with the North Korean leader during his first term, said last month that he planned to meet Kim Jong Un later this year.
New Rocket Test
In a separate announcement on Thursday, North Korea said it had tested upgraded 240-millimeter guided multiple-launch rockets on September 22. According to KCNA, the weapons can hit targets as far as 115 kilometers (71 miles) away.
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong is expected to address the UN General Assembly.
