North Korea Defends Nuclear Status at UN: 'Irreversible'

[Anchor]

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong stated during her UN General Assembly speech that North Korea is a nuclear-armed state and its status is irreversible. This is interpreted as an intention to reject denuclearization talks and establish its nuclear status as a fait accompli within the international community.

New York Correspondent Kim Hyunwoo reports.

[Reporter]

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong took the podium at the UN General Assembly for the second consecutive year.

Vice Minister Kim claimed that ongoing joint drills by South Korea, the United States, and Japan around the Korean Peninsula constitute a grave military threat.

[Kim Son-gyong / North Korean Vice Foreign Minister: The adventurous military threats by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea are creating an unprecedented level of security instability on the Korean Peninsula.]

Vice Minister Kim emphasized that North Korea needs a nuclear deterrent to protect its sovereignty and security from external threats and aggression, calling it an absolute force.

[Kim Son-gyong / North Korean Vice Foreign Minister: We reaffirm the official position of the government of the Republic that the nuclear-armed status of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea cannot be reversed under any circumstances or by anything.]

She further stated that North Korea will firmly safeguard its national sovereignty and interests while faithfully fulfilling its mission as a nuclear weapons state.

This is seen as a signal that Pyongyang will not engage in negotiations premised on denuclearization, while attempting to cement its status as a nuclear-armed nation in the international arena.

In this year's UN speech, North Korea unleashed a barrage of harsh rhetoric, particularly targeting Japan.

[Kim Son-gyong / North Korean Vice Foreign Minister: Japan, a primary war criminal state that inflicted indescribable suffering and disaster upon humanity in the last century, is spurring its re-militarization maneuvers on an unprecedented scale, bringing the dark clouds of war to the entire region.]

Amid heightened tensions in inter-Korean relations following a recent landmine explosion incident, Vice Minister Kim did not directly target South Korea.

Delegations from South Korea, the United States, and Japan remained seated to watch today's speech, which lasted about 18 minutes, and applause broke out solely from the North Korean delegation after the speech concluded.

(Video by Lee Hee-hoon | Video Editing by Cho Moo-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.