North Korea stresses irreversible nuclear power status before UN

Pyongyang also mocked Seoul’s efforts to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong delivers an address during the general debate of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, US, on Sept. 28, 2026. (Yonhap)

North Korea used a speech at the UN General Assembly to stress that its status as a nuclear weapons state is irreversible while also criticizing South Korea for its push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

“The status of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear weapons state [. . .] can never be reversed in any circumstances or by any means,” said North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong during the general debate portion of the UN General Assembly.

“The DPRK’s nuclear deterrent is the absolute might and irresistible force designed [. . .] to safeguard [. . .] sovereignty, security and peace against aggression and threat from [the] outside,” he also said.

While Kim did not directly mention US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a summit with the North in his speech, he appeared to be reiterating Pyongyang’s well-established refusal to put denuclearization on the agenda of any putative meeting.

Kim also sharply criticized Seoul’s efforts to develop nuclear-powered submarines.

“The US has approved and is encouraging Seoul’s ambition to possess nuclear-powered submarines, while relocating and deploying different military hardware including the latest missiles and drones on the Korean Peninsula and in its vicinity. The current military inclination is further aggravating the already vulnerable security landscape in the region,” he said.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry also said that South Korea's possession of nuclear-powered submarines would ultimately lead to nuclear weapons.

In a memorandum published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Foreign Ministry described the US as “the chief culprit of the vertical proliferation bringing a global nuclear nightmare.” 

The same memorandum claimed that US cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines would ultimately enable South Korea to realize what Pyongyang regards as Seoul’s dangerous nuclear ambitions of securing the right to weapons-grade enrichment of nuclear material and eventually acquiring nuclear weapons.

That claim disregards the fact that the nuclear-powered submarines being sought by South Korea use nuclear fuel for propulsion but otherwise bear no relation to nuclear weapons.