North Korea declared on Monday that its status as a nuclear power has become irreversible, warning that it will firmly oppose any future attempts to alter this stance.
The North Korean mission in Vienna, Austria, issued a statement to the Korean Central News Agency, asserting that, as a responsible nuclear power, it will faithfully fulfill its obligations to the international community.
Most recently, at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, a U.S. representative reaffirmed America’s continued commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea.
In response, the North Korean mission strongly condemned this position, stating that the U.S. has once again committed a grave political provocation by labeling the nuclear capability as illegal while demanding fenuclearization. Further adding that they vehemently denounce this provocative behavior, which exposes America’s persistent hostile intent toward North Korea, and express profound concern over its potential negative consequences.
The mission further argued that by reiterating outdated calls for denuclearization in an international forum, the U.S. has clearly demonstrated that the ultimate goal of its North Korea policy is the abandonment of our constitution and system, indicating that it has no intention of coexisting with them.
North Korean representatives asserted that the U.S.’s hegemonic actions, which undermine the foundation of the international non-proliferation regime, pose the greatest threat to the global community. They demanded that the U.S. faithfully fulfill its nuclear disarmament obligations and immediately cease nuclear proliferation activities, including providing extended deterrence, sharing nuclear capabilities with non-nuclear states, and transferring nuclear submarine technology.
The mission emphasized that enhancing its self-defensive nuclear deterrence is a necessary measure to reliably safeguard national sovereignty and security in the face of ongoing U.S. nuclear threats and to maintain the balance of power. They argued that the IAEA lacks any legal authority or moral justification to interfere in the internal affairs of nuclear powers outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
North Korean representatives concluded by asserting that continuously strengthening their self-defensive nuclear deterrence is the optimal strategy to prevent the risk of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula and to reliably guarantee their nation’s right to survival and development, particularly in light of escalating U.S. nuclear threats and increasingly aggressive nuclear alliance activities.