Senior N.K. diplomat says Pyongyang's nuclear status can never be reversed 'in any circumstances'

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- A senior North Korean diplomat reiterated Monday that Pyongyang's status as a "nuclear weapons state" can never be reversed "in any circumstances" or "by any means," stressing that the claimed status has been "uncompromisingly and permanently fixed."

Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong made the remarks in an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, defending North Korea's nuclear deterrent as an "irresistible" force to defend sovereignty and security against external threats.

His remarks came a week after South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyon, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated their "resolute" commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of the North and called on the North to resume dialogue in a joint statement last week.

"The DPRK's nuclear deterrent is the absolute might and irresistible force designed from A to Z to safeguard the sovereignty, security and peace against aggression and threat from outside," he said. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"I'd like to reiterate the official position of the DPRK government: The status of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a nuclear weapons state that has been uncompromisingly and permanently fixed both physically and legally with absolutely no turning point, can never be reversed in any circumstances or by any means, no matter how hard and loudly the hostile forces may deny in chorus with all sorts of rhetoric," he added.

Kim criticized trilateral military cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan, claiming that the risk and military threat from it "go beyond the precedent and continue to break the worst records in their scale intensity, nature and dangers, creating security instability on the Korean Peninsula."

He went on to argue that no physical conflict has occurred on and around the peninsula because Pyongyang has a "war deterrent in place powerful enough to break anyone's will to start a war of aggression against the DPRK." He was apparently referring to the North's nuclear program.

The vice minister also underscored that the North will continue to "strictly" control and manage every external threat with "overwhelming strength," noting that it is committed to its mission as a "responsible" nuclear weapons state to defend "national sovereignty" and "fundamental rights."

Moreover, Kim used the address to decry South Korea's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines with support from the U.S.

"The U.S. has approved and (has been) encouraging Seoul's ambition to possess nuclear-powered submarines while relocating and deploying different military hardware, including the latest missiles and drones on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity," he said.

"The current military inclination is further aggravating the already vulnerable security landscape in the region."

The diplomat also attended last year's General Assembly, during which he stressed that Pyongyang would never give up its nuclear program "under any circumstances."

The North had not sent any high-level officials to the U.N. General Assembly for six years until 2024, following the no-deal summit between Trump and the North Korean leader in Hanoi in February 2019.

Ri Su-yong, then foreign minister, attended the Assembly from 2014-2015, while Ri Yong-ho, then foreign minister, participated from 2016 to 2018.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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