Key facts
- Choe said she strongly condemns and rejects the G7's criticism of what she called the North's constitutional right.
- Choe said North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons is the most powerful guarantee of its sovereign rights.
- Choe accused the United States and Britain, both G7 members, of a double standard because they possess nuclear weapons.
- Choe said the G7 is not entitled to comment on other countries' nuclear issues.
- Choe said the fact that North Korea is already nuclear-armed proves the G7's strategic failure.
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui on November 12 denounced a joint call by the Group of Seven advanced nations for the North's denuclearization, saying in a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency that its commitment to nuclear buildup remains steadfast.
The G7 foreign ministers issued their joint statement after a meeting in Paris earlier in the week. It strongly condemned the North's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions, which ban Pyongyang from developing those weapons.
Choe said she strongly condemned and rejected what she called the G7's vicious criticism of the North's constitutional right and reaffirmed the DPRK's steadfast will for nuclear possession. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
She said North Korea's judgment that nuclear weapons are the most powerful guarantee for ensuring its national sovereign rights is immutable. She said the pursuit of denuclearizing the North is impossible both in theory and practice, accusing the United States and its allies of a double standard because countries including the US and Britain, both G7 members, possess nuclear weapons.
Choe said the G7 is not entitled to find fault with or comment on others' nuclear issues, and reiterated that the North's nuclear weapons possession is a legitimate exercise of its sovereignty. She said the fact that it is already nuclear-armed proves the G7's strategic failure, and that any denial of it means a denial of the truth and an open expression of hostility aimed at confrontation with the DPRK.