North Korea fiercely criticizes South Korea-US-Japan 'Complete Denuclearization' statement as a "failed dream of the past"

North Korea criticized the joint statement from the South Korea-U.S.-Japan foreign ministers' meeting, which specified "complete denuclearization," calling it a "failed dream of the past." At the same time, it strongly expressed its stance to continue adhering to the policy of strengthening its nuclear forces.

On the 16th, the birthday of North Korean National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il, Gaepung County, Hwanghaebuk-do, North Korea, as seen from Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Yonhap News.

On the 18th, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through a spokesperson's statement, said, "(Denuclearization) is now an increasingly impossible and unrealistic outdated and absurd plan, both practically and conceptually," according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency.

On the 15th, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol of South Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi held talks on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany and issued a joint statement specifying "complete denuclearization of North Korea." North Korea has now expressed its position regarding this.

The spokesperson particularly targeted the United States, saying, "For over 30 years, the imperialist factions who have ignored the causes of the emergence and persistence of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and unilaterally attempted to harm our nation's security must now ask themselves what results their futile attempts have led to."

However, the spokesperson also said, "The more the United States fails to face reality and continues to cling to ineffective pressure measures, the more North Korea will seize new opportunities necessary to upgrade its strategic power and gain a much more advantageous position in the North Korea-U.S. confrontation," indicating remarks with North Korea-U.S. negotiations in mind.

The spokesperson asserted, "As long as hostile threats from the United States and its followers exist, for us, nuclear weapons are peace itself, sovereignty, and a legitimate means of self-defense granted by the national constitution," adding, "We will consistently adhere to the new nuclear force strengthening policy declared by the head of state and will thoroughly suppress the threats and intimidation from the United States and its followers that infringe upon our nation's sovereignty and security interests by utilizing all political and military tools at our disposal, perfectly achieving our strategic goals."

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