North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that it rejected a resolution issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency criticising Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme, affirming that the country’s status as a nuclear power is “irreversible” and based on its nuclear deterrence capabilities.
Kim Yo Jong accuses agency of double standards
The ministry’s position came in a separate statement after Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of applying double standards when dealing with countries’ nuclear activities, following the adoption of the resolution concerning her country’s programme. Kim Yo Jong said the agency’s “biased view and double standards” were “the fundamental factor causing the collapse of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime”.
She added that the agency had ignored the United States’ “blatant nuclear proliferation activities”, as well as “South Korea’s plan to introduce nuclear-powered submarines”. By contrast, Kim said the agency had forcibly adopted a resolution against what she described as North Korea’s “defensive and legitimate nuclear activities”.
Pyongyang links nuclear programme to defensive capabilities
Her statement reflects Pyongyang’s insistence that its nuclear programme is part of its defensive capabilities, in response to the resolution criticising its nuclear weapons programme. The North Korean position coincided with a three-day inspection tour by Kim Jong Un of key munitions factories during the week.
The North Korean leader said his country’s efforts to modernise all components of its defensive capabilities were bringing about a “major change” in the composition of its armed forces and the means they use. Analysts say North Korea has been reforming its military with Russian assistance since the two countries signed a mutual defence treaty in 2024.
They believe the combat experience gained by Pyongyang’s forces deployed in the war in Ukraine has also helped support efforts to modernise the North Korean military. In a separate activity on Friday, Kim Jong Un delivered a lecture during a training course for propaganda workers in Pyongyang.
He urged those attending to make modern “ideological warfare” innovative, creative and offensive, rather than merely repeating old methods of propaganda work.
