North Korea doubles down on nuclear arsenal, rebukes U.S. denuclearization demand

North Korea said Monday it will not give up its nuclear weapons status, calling the United States' reaffirmation of its "complete denuclearization" principle a "hostile" policy toward the North.

"It is pointless to expect any detente in the region, given the grave situation where the U.S. persistent hostile policy toward the DPRK is evolving in a more dangerous way," a spokesperson for North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

It continued to say, "There is no change in our policy toward the United States to respond to its invariable hostile policy with the toughest stand to the last." 

U.S. President Donald Trump has reached out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in recent weeks, telling reporters in August that he gets along well with the leader, and has claimed Kim responded positively to his recent outreach. U.S. officials have since discussed a possible meeting during Trump's upcoming Asia trip, with a summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in Shenzhen, China this November floated as one possibility, though no formal arrangements have begun.

North Korea on Monday especially took issue with comments made by U.S. State Department officials on Wednesday, who said Washington remains committed to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and that there has been no change to U.S. policy toward the North.

North Korea also condemned the United States for raising human rights issues, calling it an "extremely sinister and vicious hostile attempt to tarnish the image of our country and create its internal instability, talking about someone's 'human rights abuses.'"

The spokesperson also cited Freedom Edge, the multidomain joint military exercise involving South Korea, the United States and Japan, as well as U.S. reconnaissance activity targeting the North.

"The Trump administration has thus fully reconfirmed its invariable hostile policy to wantonly violate the sovereignty, political system and security interests of the DPRK through the 'denuclearization' racket, 'human rights' smear campaign and military threat," the spokesperson said. 

The spokesperson also said U.S. policy toward North Korea "has become a root cause of pushing the tensions on the Korean peninsula to a more dangerous level and escalating the structural instability of the region."

North Korea also made clear its intention to continue possessing nuclear weapons and strengthening its nuclear forces.

"Our nukes serve as an absolute guarantee for defending its sovereignty and the nuclear weapons in possession of the DPRK and their sustained bolstering are the most responsible and correct option for ensuring regional peace and security," the spokesperson said. 

North Korea cited the U.S. nuclear posture and trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan as further justification for strengthening its nuclear forces, claiming that the U.S. nuclear posture is becoming more aggressive and that Japan's rearmament and South Korea's military buildup are taking place under trilateral military cooperation.

North Korea's current status, "fixed on a permanent basis by its supreme state law, can neither be weakened nor be diluted by the U.S. repeated expression of stand on 'denuclearization,'" said the spokesperson. The Supreme People's Assembly amended the country's constitution in September 2023 to declare the country a "permanent" nuclear state and rule out denuclearization altogether.

"To absurdly stick to the past can never get a grip on reality or deter the future," the spokesperson added, referring to U.S. demands for denuclearization.

North Korea "will be more resolute and clear in its exercise of sovereignty to defend the supreme interests of its national security, based on the premise that the U.S. policy toward the DPRK never changes and there will be no change in the future."

BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]