New York, United States (Viory) – North Korea declared at the United Nations that its status as a nuclear-armed state is “irreversible,” rejecting renewed calls from the United States, South Korea, and Japan for its complete denuclearization.
Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong told the UN General Assembly on Monday, Sept. 28, that Pyongyang would not give up its nuclear weapons regardless of international pressure.
“The thoroughly established status of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear-weapon state can never be reversed under any circumstances or by anything,” Kim said.
He defended North Korea’s nuclear arsenal as necessary to protect the country against what Pyongyang considers external military threats.
Kim accused Washington and its allies of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula through military exercises and growing trilateral security cooperation among the US, South Korea and Japan.
“In particular, the Korean Peninsula and surrounding regions are facing extreme instability and heightened tensions,” Kim said, blaming what he called the “hostile policy” of the US and its allies.
He pointed to military exercises including Freedom Shield and Freedom Edge as evidence of what Pyongyang considers a growing military threat.
Kim also criticized the United Nations, accusing powerful countries of pursuing their own interests at the expense of multilateral cooperation.
UN News said the North Korean official argued that the organization had been weakened by the “high-handedness and unilateralism” of a small number of states.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi also called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue, saying the path to diplomacy remained open.
With reports from Viory
