North Korea to keep nuclear weapons ‘forever’, says foreign minister

North Korea will keep its nuclear weapons “forever”, its foreign minister vowed Thursday, dismissing the South Korean president’s renewed calls for a denuclearised Korean Peninsula.

Pyongyang has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state, with its leadership repeatedly declaring the country’s atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

The foreign minister’s remarks came a day after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told the UN General Assembly he wanted to halt further growth in Pyongyang’s weapons capabilities and eventually achieve a Korean Peninsula “free from nuclear weapons”.

“I reaffirm and reconfirm in the strongest tone of voice the steadfast will of our state to keep nuclear weapons through all ages,” North Korea’s foreign minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The country’s nuclear status was “irreversible in any case and will remain unchanged forever”, she added.

“The coexistence of confrontation and dialogue may be workable for anyone, but they can never be a considerable one for the DPRK,” Choe said, using the country’s official acronym.

North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state was “everlasting” regardless of what hostile forces said, she added.

At the UN, Lee — who has repeatedly sought to revive dialogue with the North — also said South Korea would “lay the groundwork” for the resumption of long-stalled dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.

The South Korean president said last week that US President Donald Trump “clearly wants dialogue” with Pyongyang.

Trump, who met the North Korean leader three times during his first term, said last month that he planned to meet Kim Jong Un later this year.

Separately on Thursday, Pyongyang said it had tested “updated 240-millimetre controlled multiple-launch rockets” on Sept 22.

KCNA said the weapons were capable of striking targets up to 115km away.

North Korea’s vice foreign minister is expected to address the UN General Assembly next week.