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North Korea says nuclear status 'irreversible'
🇸🇬 Singapore /Energy & Infrastructure

North Korea says nuclear status 'irreversible'

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • North Korea declared its nuclear weapons status "irreversible" and essential for regional stability, rejecting U.S. and allied calls for denuclearization.
  • A North Korean spokesperson stated that denuclearization is a "finalized matter" and criticized U.S. arms sales to South Korea and Japan.
  • The statement follows a trilateral meeting where the U.S., South Korea, and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

North Korea asserted on Sunday that its status as a nuclear weapons state is "irreversible" and a cornerstone of regional stability, directly countering demands from the United States and its allies for denuclearization. Pyongyang has consistently maintained that its nuclear arsenal is vital for deterrence.

The US and its vassal forces' meaningless rhetoric against the DPRK ... can never affect the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state.

— Unnamed KCNA SpokespersonResponding to calls for denuclearization from the U.S. and its allies.

A spokesperson, speaking through the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), dismissed calls for denuclearization as "meaningless rhetoric" from the U.S. and its "vassal forces." The spokesperson declared that "denuclearisation" is an "irreversibly finalised matter," emphasizing the country's firm stance.

The 'denuclearisation' is an irreversibly finalised matter.

— Unnamed KCNA SpokespersonEmphasizing North Korea's firm stance on its nuclear program.

The statement followed a trilateral meeting in Tokyo involving South Korea, Japan, and the United States, where the allies reiterated their commitment to the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula." North Korea cited U.S. weapons sales to Seoul and Tokyo as justification for its nuclear program, framing it as a "strong security guarantee for regional stability and peace."

a strong security guarantee for regional stability and peace

— Unnamed KCNA SpokespersonJustifying North Korea's nuclear program in light of U.S. arms sales to South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has intensified its nuclear weapons development since talks with Washington collapsed in 2019. The spokesperson suggested that the opportunity for denuclearization was "permanently missed" and that international efforts to reverse North Korea's nuclear status would fail, regardless of diplomatic efforts by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.

No matter how hard the US, Japan and the ROK may quibble, they will never change the present position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state.

— Unnamed KCNA SpokespersonDismissing diplomatic efforts by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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