Pyongyang: North Korea on Sunday called denuclearization an "irreversibly finalized" matter as it denounced recent talks between Republic of Korea and the United States that reaffirmed the goal of the North's denuclearization.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said, in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, that the United States and its allies continue to escalate nuclear threats against Pyongyang through military cooperation mechanisms and joint exercises, while demanding that North Korea abandon its nuclear capabilities.
The US and its allies meaningless rhetoric against the DPRK and cooperation in posing a nuclear threat to it can never affect the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state, the spokesperson said. "The 'denuclearization' is an irreversibly finalized matter."
Pyongyang accused the United States, Japan, and Republic of Korea of escalating the nuclear standoff in the region and criticized what it called attempts by Western countries to impose illegitimate policies and measures on sovereign states.
The Foreign Ministry confirmed that its nuclear program aims to deter external threats, protect sovereignty and national security, and ensure regional stability, stressing that Pyongyang will continue to develop its military and technological capabilities to counter "the growing threats from hostile countries."
Officials from the United States and Republic of Korea discussed last week ways to strengthen nuclear deterrence and prepare to counter North Korea’s growing weapons program during talks held in Seoul as part of the Nuclear Advisory Group.
