North Korea will never surrender nuclear weapons, says Pyongyang diplomat

DPRK will retain arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles as long as US hostility to Kim Jong-un regime remains, says envoy Ju Yong-chol

Intercontinental ballistic missiles on parade in Pyongyang (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

North Korea's self-defensive nuclear deterrence arsenal will never be on the negotiating table, a Pyongyang envoy has said.

Ju Yong-chol, a North Korean diplomat, spoke at a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament after the US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood said that President Donald Trump's “top priority” was to protect the United States and its allies against the “growing threat” from North Korea.

“The measures taken by the DPRK (North Korea) to strengthen its nuclear deterrence and develop intercontinental rockets is justifiable and a legitimate option for self-defence in the face of such apparent and real threats,” Ju told the Geneva forum, referring to “constant nuclear threats” by the United States.

“...As long as the US hostile policy and nuclear threat remains unchallenged, the DPRK will never place its self-defensive nuclear deterrence on the negotiating table.”

Reuters