North Korea Rejects Commitment to NPT, Affirms Nuclear State Status
North Korea’s permanent representative to the United Nations announced that the country will “under no circumstances and never” return to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and considers its status as a nuclear-armed state irreversible. This stance was declared amid the 11th Review Conference of the treaty held at the UN headquarters in New York, where the United States and some of its allies criticized Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
Kim Song, North Korea’s ambassador and permanent representative, said in a statement released by the country’s official news agency that Washington and its “puppet countries” baselessly challenge his country’s current status and what he called its “sovereign rights.” He emphasized that North Korea’s nuclear position will not change due to “foreign verbal claims or unilateral demands.”
According to Kim, the country’s nuclear status is enshrined in North Korea’s constitution, and the principles governing the use of nuclear weapons are explicitly specified. He stressed that, for “clarification again,” Pyongyang has no commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
North Korea withdrew from the NPT in 2003 and has since conducted several nuclear tests; these actions have been met with sanctions by the United Nations Security Council. According to international estimates, the country now possesses a significant number of nuclear warheads and has consistently described its nuclear path as “irreversible.”
Meanwhile, the United States and its allies emphasize the importance of maintaining the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Internationally, discussions have always existed about the membership or non-membership of some nuclear-capable countries in this treaty.
