North Korea Rejects IAEA Call to Abandon Nuclear Arms
North Korea has rejected the International Atomic Energy Agency’s call for it to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, saying Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-armed state is “fixed and irreversible.”
North Korea’s state news agency reported that Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un, made the remarks in response to the 70th regular session of the IAEA General Conference in Vienna. According to her, the demands made for North Korea’s denuclearisation are “empty and repetitive words.”
Referring to North Korea by its official name, the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” she said no outside factor can change the country’s nuclear status. Kim Yo Jong also stressed that periodic meetings and statements by the agency and Western countries would have no effect on Pyongyang’s determination to preserve what she described as the defence of the country’s supreme interests.
At its latest meeting, the IAEA General Conference expressed concern over North Korea’s expanding nuclear capabilities and called on Pyongyang to fully, verifiably and irreversibly dismantle its nuclear weapons programme within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, and its general conference is held every year with the participation of member states. Vienna, the capital of Austria, hosts the agency’s headquarters.
