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North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said Thursday that Pyongyang would not abandon its nuclear weapons, rejecting a joint call from the United States, South Korea and Japan for the country’s complete denuclearization.
In a statement titled “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Will to Possess Nuclear Weapons Is Eternal,” Choe said the policy would remain unchanged even after “a hundred or a thousand years.” She described nuclear weapons as central to North Korea’s sovereignty and its strongest means of defending state power.
Response to US and Allied Pressure
The top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan issued a joint statement in New York on Monday supporting North Korea’s complete denuclearization and urging Pyongyang to return to dialogue.
Choe called denuclearization an unrealistic goal and argued that continued demands from Washington and its allies would only strengthen North Korea’s justification for retaining nuclear weapons and taking a harder line toward the United States.
The statement came as President Donald Trump was pursuing another summit with North Korea. Choe’s remarks appeared intended to make clear that Pyongyang does not consider denuclearization a possible subject for talks with Washington.
North Korea Rejects Nuclear Test Statement
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry separately criticized a joint statement issued by supporters of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty after a ministerial meeting in New York on Tuesday involving more than 70 countries.
That statement called on North Korea to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions and take concrete steps toward complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.
Pyongyang dismissed the statement as fabricated and characterized it as a political provocation challenging North Korea’s sovereign rights. The ministry said it would not tolerate attempts to deny the country’s sovereignty or its status under its constitution.
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