North Korea at UN: "No Renunciation of Nuclear Weapons State Status"

North Korea reaffirmed its existing stance at the United Nations that it will not give up its nuclear weapons.

Kim In-cheol, Secretary of the North Korean Mission to the UN, said on the 16th (local time) at the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the UN General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York, "As long as the imperialists' nuclear weapons exist, we will neither abandon nor change our current status as a nuclear-armed state." He also emphasized the recent fact that North Korea has enshrined its policy of advancing nuclear capabilities in its constitution.

On this day, while diplomats from various countries expressed concern over North Korea's nuclear weapons development and urged dialogue and negotiations for denuclearization, North Korea effectively denied the possibility of denuclearization itself.

Additionally, Secretary Kim referred to the holding of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) under the Washington Declaration between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, claiming that "the United States is provoking nuclear war against North Korea."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Earlier, Kim Seong-hoon, Counselor of the South Korean Mission, pointed out that "North Korea has been obsessed with developing nuclear weapons and missiles for decades and continues unprecedented provocative acts," stating that North Korea's actions violate United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. Counselor Kim urged, "North Korea must abandon its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and return to the dialogue table."

Along with this, Counselor Kim criticized North Korea's recent announcement of a principle that it can carry out a preemptive nuclear strike targeting South Korea at any time based on arbitrary judgment, calling it "an irresponsible act to threaten other countries with nuclear weapons."

The Japanese Mission also stated at the meeting that "North Korea's nuclear weapons development and ballistic missile provocations are extremely concerning," and argued that the international community must unite to dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons in a 'complete, verifiable, and irreversible' (CVID) manner.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.