North Korea issued a statement pushing back against the United States and its allies, affirming that its status as a nuclear-armed country is "irreversible." It criticized efforts to pressure it into denuclearization as merely a "daydream," emphasizing that its nuclear arsenal guarantees security and peace in the region.
North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the joint discussions held by the United States and its allies, including South Korea and Japan, which reiterated their goal of "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea stated that the matter of denuclearization is "permanently concluded and cannot be reversed."
The statement was released through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). A spokesperson for North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "It is unreasonable and a delusional daydream to speak of denuclearizing the opposing side in a state of war."
Furthermore, the spokesperson added, "The meaningless rhetoric of the United States and its allied countries, along with their cooperation in creating nuclear threats against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will never shake the country's firm status as a nuclear state."
North Korea's hardline stance comes amid ongoing diplomatic activities by allied nations, including the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting between the United States and South Korea on 11 June, deterrence talks between the US and Japan, and the trilateral meeting among the US, South Korea, and Japan held in Tokyo last Friday. South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that all three countries reaffirmed their commitment to making the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free.
However, North Korea's spokesperson countered by asking, "No matter how much the United States, Japan, and South Korea attempt to distort or find excuses, they can never change North Korea's current status as a nuclear-armed state."
North Korea also cited the US government's ongoing sales of advanced weapons systems to South Korea and Japan as justification for advancing its own nuclear program, stating that its nuclear weapons are a "strong guarantee of security for stability and peace in the region."
Since the collapse of negotiations with the United States in 2019—following the Hanoi summit between Kim Jong Un and former President Donald Trump that ended without agreement—North Korea has accelerated and escalated its nuclear weapons program. The North Korean spokesperson concluded, likely referring to past failures, by saying, "No one can restore the 'denuclearization' that has been permanently lost with the passage of time."
Additionally, recently, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Pyongyang office after Xi completed summits with Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing. Official media reports from both countries noted that the issue of "nuclear disarmament" was not raised even once during their discussions. This aligns with previous statements from Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, who declared that North Korea's nuclear policy is a "path from which there is no return."