Nuclear security

Not Negotiable: North Korea Sticks to Its Guns on Nuclear Weapons

Pyongyang has reminded Seoul that its nuclear weapons program will continue, regardless of any diplomatic overtures for peace.

Responding to renewed suggestions from South Korea that the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) return to the negotiating table, Pyongyang has warned that its program of nuclear weapons development is not subject to any debate.

In a Sunday editorial published by the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper, North Korea promised to continue its development of nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles necessary to deliver them to any target on the planet, regardless of whether bilateral diplomatic negotiation takes place, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.

Stating that Seoul and Washington must stop attempting to get Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program, the editorial took an offensive tone, asserting the increasingly isolated nation's right to defend itself as it pleases.