SEOUL, Feb. 18 (UPI) — North Korea criticized the United States and its allies for pursuing the “absurd and outdated” goal of denuclearization in state-run media Tuesday, saying that Pyongyang would stick to leader Kim Jong Un‘s goal of building up its nuclear forces.
“The U.S. is pursuing an outdated and absurd plan of ‘denuclearization,’ which is now getting more impossible and impracticable,” North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by Korean Central News Agency.
“It is not worth consideration to counter the stand of the U.S. escaping from reality and we condemn and reject the U.S. action in the most resolute tone,” the statement said. “As long as the U.S. and its vassal forces’ hostile threat exists, the DPRK’s nukes are means for defending peace and sovereignty and a means for legitimate self-defense.”
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
Pyongyang’s statement came after the top diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan met at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend and reaffirmed their “resolute commitment” to the complete denuclearization of the North.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya met on the sidelines of the conference and issued a joint statement Saturday that sent a “strong warning” against any provocations by Pyongyang.
The diplomats “expressed their serious concerns over and the need to address together the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs, malicious cyber activities including cryptocurrency thefts and increasing military cooperation with Russia,” the statement said.
North Korea has maintained a defiant tone toward the United States since President Donald Trump returned to office last month, despite speculation that Trump may look to revive nuclear negotiations with Kim.
During Trump’s first term, the two leaders held a pair of high-profile summits and met briefly a third time at the DMZ.
The diplomatic outreach failed to result in a nuclear deal, however, and Pyongyang has accelerated the development of its weapons programs in the intervening years.
In September 2022, the North passed a law declaring itself a nuclear weapons state and giving it the right to conduct a preemptive nuclear strike to protect itself. Kim called the decision “irreversible” and later amended the country’s constitution to enshrine the permanent growth of Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal.
Tuesday’s Foreign Ministry statement reiterated Kim’s call for a continued nuclear buildup.
“The DPRK will as ever consistently adhere to the new line of bolstering up the nuclear force clarified by the head of state and thoroughly deter the U.S. and its vassal forces from the threat and blackmail of encroaching upon the sovereignty and security interests of the state,” it said.