North Korea said its "possession of nuclear weapons represents faithful fulfillment of its constitutional obligations," declaring that "the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is not bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) under any circumstances."
Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, made the remarks in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on Friday. He said the country was "faithfully fulfilling its obligations under the Law on the State Nuclear Forces Policy and the State Constitution, which cemented its legal status as a nuclear weapons state." He added, "We condemn and reject in the strongest terms the brazen and shameless behavior of the United States and certain other countries that challenge our realistic and justified possession of nuclear weapons and our inherent exercise of defensive rights as a sovereign state." He also said, "The misguided conduct of the United States and Western nations in forcing compliance with treaty obligations is itself a gross violation of the spirit of the treaty and a total disregard for the purposes and principles of international law."
He further pointed out that "the central task of implementing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty should be to rectify the treaty violations of the United States and certain countries, which are neglecting their nuclear disarmament obligations and engaging in proliferation acts such as providing 'extended deterrence' to non-nuclear states and transferring nuclear submarine technology." The remarks are interpreted as targeting ongoing cooperation between South Korea and the United States on nuclear-powered submarines.
Regarding the NPT conference currently being held at UN headquarters in New York, Kim said, "The fact that it has lost its original mission in accordance with the impure political schemes of the United States and Western forces and has been transformed into a venue for malicious accusations against sovereign states is the fundamental reason why the global non-proliferation system is being weakened." He added that North Korea "will actively contribute to the international community's efforts to ensure international peace and security and to promote global strategic stability."
Adopted at the United Nations in 1968, the NPT is an international treaty aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons. North Korea declared its withdrawal from the NPT in 1993.
