RismadarVoice Reporters
September 24, 2026
North Korea has declared that it will retain its nuclear arsenal “forever,” rejecting renewed calls from South Korea for the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui made the declaration on Thursday, a day after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for efforts to halt the expansion of Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities and ultimately achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
In a statement carried by North Korea’s state media, Choe described the country’s nuclear-armed status as irreversible and said Pyongyang would not abandon its weapons programme.
She also rejected what she described as attempts to combine confrontation with dialogue in dealings with North Korea.
North Korea has enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state in law and has repeatedly maintained that its nuclear programme is permanent.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Lee said South Korea would seek to create conditions for renewed dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.
The South Korean leader also said US President Donald Trump was interested in resuming talks with North Korea.
Trump, who met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times during his first term as US president, said last month that he intended to meet Kim again later this year.
The latest exchange comes as North Korea continues to develop its weapons capabilities.
Pyongyang said Thursday that it had tested an updated 240-millimetre guided multiple-launch rocket system on September 22, claiming the weapon could strike targets up to 115 kilometres away.
A North Korean vice foreign minister is expected to address the UN General Assembly next week.
