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North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said Wednesday that Pyongyang would not abandon its nuclear weapons, sharply 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 country’s position could not be reversed “under any circumstances” and would remain unchanged even after “hundreds or thousands of years.” The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is North Korea’s official name.
Pyongyang Rejects Three-Way Statement
The top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan issued a joint statement in New York on Sunday supporting North Korea’s complete denuclearization and urging Pyongyang to return to talks.
Choe called denuclearization an unrealistic goal. She argued that continued pressure from Washington and its allies would only strengthen North Korea’s justification for retaining nuclear weapons and reinforce its hard-line stance toward the United States.
Choe described nuclear weapons as central to North Korean sovereignty and the country’s highest-level means of defending its authority. She also claimed North Korea would retain its status as a nuclear-armed state and that the geopolitical order surrounding the country would be reshaped and solidified accordingly.
Message Comes Amid U.S. Outreach
The statement came as President Donald Trump pursues another summit with North Korea. It restated Pyongyang’s longstanding position that denuclearization will not be accepted as an agenda item in talks with Washington.
North Korea Also Rejects Nuclear Test Statement
In a separate statement the same day, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry denounced a declaration by countries supporting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
More than 70 countries reportedly took part in a ministerial meeting in New York on Monday. Their joint statement called on North Korea to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions and take concrete steps toward complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the declaration fabricated and described it as a political provocation challenging the country’s sovereign rights. It said Pyongyang would not tolerate attempts to deny its sovereignty or its constitutionally defined status.
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