North Korea says its nuclear status will remain permanent
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui rejected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s call for a denuclearised Korean Peninsula, saying Pyongyang would retain its nuclear weapons permanently. Lee has also called for renewed dialogue, while North Korea separately reported a multiple-launch rocket test.
North Korea will retain its nuclear weapons permanently, Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said, rejecting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s renewed call for a denuclearised Korean Peninsula. Choe said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that her country would keep nuclear weapons “through all ages”. She described North Korea’s status as a nuclear-armed state as irreversible and said it would remain unchanged.
The remarks came a day after Lee told the United Nations General Assembly that he wanted to halt further growth in Pyongyang’s weapons capabilities and eventually achieve a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons. Lee also said South Korea would seek to create conditions for dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington. According to the supplied report, Lee said US President Donald Trump wanted dialogue with North Korea.
Trump has previously met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and was reported to be planning another meeting later in the year. Separately, North Korea said it had tested updated 240-millimetre controlled multiple-launch rockets on September 22. KCNA said the weapons could strike targets up to 115 kilometres away.
North Korea’s vice foreign minister is expected to address the UN General Assembly the following week.
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