SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea rejected a resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency calling for an end to its nuclear activities, saying the measure has no effect on its status as a nuclear weapons state, state media reported Saturday.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the resolution, adopted during the IAEA’s annual general conference, cannot affect Pyongyang because the country is not a member of the agency.
A ministry spokesperson accused the United States and Western countries of trying to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program and called the resolution illegal.
“The ‘resolution’ cooked up by the US and the West has no effect on the DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state,” the spokesperson said, according to state news agency KCNA.
The spokesperson also said North Korea’s nuclear weapons status does not require recognition from the United States, Western countries or the IAEA. The government has incorporated its nuclear weapons status into its laws and maintains that its nuclear deterrent remains permanent and irreversible.
North Korea said it plans to strengthen its nuclear capabilities as part of its long-term defense strategy in response to what it described as a worsening international security environment.
The country withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has not allowed the IAEA to conduct regular inspections of its nuclear facilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in August that North Korea has 57 nuclear weapons, while South Korean estimates put the country’s arsenal at between 80 and 120 warheads.
Trump has also expressed interest in resuming talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said last month that he expected to meet Kim later this year.
Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, separately said Thursday that North Korea’s status as a nuclear-armed state was “absolute” and criticized calls for the country to abandon its nuclear weapons.