North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has rejected a resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that criticized its nuclear weapons program. In a statement issued Saturday through the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a ministry spokesperson said the country’s position as a nuclear weapons state is “irreversible.”
The spokesperson attributed the resolution to the “US and the West,” stating it would have “no effect on the DPRK’s position.” The statement accused what it described as “hostile forces” of using the IAEA’s general conference to seek an end to North Korea’s nuclear program.
In a separate statement also released by KCNA, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused the UN’s nuclear watchdog of having “double standards.” She said the agency’s “biased viewpoint” was a “fundamental factor causing the collapse of the international nuclear non-proliferation system.”
Kim Yo Jong’s statement claimed the IAEA disregarded the “blatant nuclear proliferation activities” of the United States and a plan by South Korea involving nuclear submarines. It contrasted this with the agency’s condemnation of what she termed North Korea’s “self-defensive and legitimate nuclear activities.”
The state media reports coincided with other official announcements. KCNA reported that Kim Jong Un completed a three-day inspection of major munitions factories this week. It also noted he delivered a lecture to a propaganda workers’ training session, in which he called for modern “ideological warfare” to be “innovative, creative and aggressive.”
These developments follow a 2024 mutual defense treaty signed between North Korea and Russia. Some analysts have stated that North Korea has been working to overhaul its military with Russian assistance and that its forces have gained combat experience from deployments in Ukraine.
The statements from Pyongyang were released after officials in the U.S. and South Korea commented on potential diplomatic engagement. On Friday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said U.S. President Donald Trump desires dialogue with North Korea and that his government would work to facilitate talks.
Last month, President Trump, who held summits with Kim Jong Un during his first term, stated he plans to meet with the North Korean leader later this year. Trump said it was important to “get along” with Kim and added that North Korea possesses 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.
