North Korea criticises G-7 over call for denuclearisation

SEOUL - North Korea’s position as a nuclear weapons state will remain undeniable, and it will continue to build its forces until military threats from the United States and its allies are eliminated, state media KCNA said on Friday.

The quoted remarks by North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui came in a statement criticising the US and other Group of Seven (G-7) countries. 

The G-7 foreign ministers condemned the North’s

April 13 test Pyongyang said was a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile

and urged denuclearisation at the end of their meeting in Japan on Tuesday.

Tension has flared in recent weeks as the isolated country ramped up military activities and threatened “more practical and offensive” action amid the annual springtime military exercises between the US and South Korea.

North Korea has been reacting furiously to the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for “an all-out, nuclear war”.

Ms Choe said North Korea’s status as a nuclear power is “final and irreversible”, and will remain an “undeniable reality” even if Washington and others in the West deny it.

Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons was only intended to guard against US threats, she said, urging Washington to drop its “hostile policy” against the North to ensure its own security.

“It is an anachronistic idea if you think that only Washington has the right and capability to carry out a nuclear strike,” KCNA quoted her as saying.

“We will never seek any recognition or approval from anyone, as we are satisfied with our access to the strength for a tit-for-tat strike against the US nuclear threat.”

Ms Choe accused the G-7 countries of illegally

interfering in North Korea’s internal affairs by demanding denuclearisation,

saying Pyongyang will take strong action if they attempt to violate its sovereignty and fundamental interests.

“We will continue to take action measures based on all legal rights granted to a sovereign state until the military threat posed by the US and its allied forces hostile toward us is completely removed,” she said.

Seoul’s unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs denounced the North’s statement as “far-fetched”, urging it to stop making threats and developing unlawful weapons programmes.

“North Korea will never get what it wants through nuclear and missile development, and it will only become more isolated from the international community,” said ministry deputy spokesman Lee Hyo-jung in a briefing.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said it was not possible to rule out a major provocation by North Korea ahead of a US visit next week by the South’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, for a summit with President Joe Biden. REUTERS