The South Korean government said Wednesday that North Korea's statement on the United Nations Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference "appears to have pointed to security cooperation between South Korea and the United States, including the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines."
A Unification Ministry official made the remarks when meeting with reporters at the Government Complex in Seoul.
Earlier in the day, Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations, issued a statement through the Korean Central News Agency addressing the discussion of the North Korean nuclear issue at the NPT Review Conference. "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is not bound by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons under any circumstances," he said, adding that Pyongyang "condemns the shameless behavior of certain countries, including the United States, that take issue with our realistically justified nuclear possession and the exercise of inherent defensive rights as a sovereign state."
Ambassador Kim also argued that "correcting treaty violations by the United States and others, such as providing 'extended deterrence' to non-nuclear states and transferring nuclear submarine technology, is the core of implementing the treaty."
The Unification Ministry official analyzed the statement, saying, "It rebuts denuclearization arguments from the United States and other Western countries while emphasizing the legitimacy of their nuclear possession." The official added, "The overall logical structure is similar to previously released public statements, but this time they emphasized nuclear-weapon state status based on their constitution and laws."
The official further noted, "At the 10th NPT Review Conference in 2022, North Korea pointed to Australia's introduction of nuclear submarines through AUKUS (the security alliance among the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia), but this time it appears to have also pointed somewhat to cooperation between South Korea and the United States on nuclear submarine introduction."
Asked whether there were any signs of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting Russia ahead of Russia's Victory Day on May 9, the Unification Ministry official said, "We understand there are no particular signs." On developments regarding North Korea's constitutional revisions reflecting its "two states" line, the official briefly replied, "We will comprehensively review the situation."
