N. Korea reaffirms nuclear status as 'irreversible,' slams Seoul's submarine push

North Korea reiterated at the UN General Assembly that its status as a nuclear-armed state is irreversible, and directly targeted the United States' approval and pursuit of South Korea's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.

The statement came despite US President Donald Trump having repeatedly and publicly expressed his desire to engage with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang made no mention of any prospect for talks, appearing to reaffirm its longstanding position that denuclearization is not on the table.

Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong delivered the address Monday (local time) at the general debate of the 81st UN General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, declaring that Pyongyang "reaffirms its official position that the status of a nuclear-armed state cannot be reversed under any circumstances or by any means."

Kim said the North's nuclear deterrent is "an absolute force and an irresistible power for defending sovereignty, security and peace against external aggression and threats." She added that the absence of armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula and the maintenance of stability there are "because we possess a powerful war deterrent and thoroughly manage the will of hostile forces to use armed force" — framing Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal as the guarantor of peace on the peninsula.

She said the North would "more faithfully fulfill its mission as a nuclear-armed state" by strictly controlling and managing all external threats through an overwhelming superiority of force, thereby firmly defending national sovereignty and fundamental interests while ensuring peace and security in the region and the world.

A significant portion of the speech was devoted to criticizing trilateral security cooperation among the United States, South Korea and Japan. Kim cited joint exercises including the Ulchi Freedom Shield and said the US is expanding its military alliances with Seoul and Tokyo into increasingly aggressive partnerships that now incorporate nuclear elements targeting the North. She said Washington and its allies are "revising and updating nuclear war scenarios and continuously cultivating and perfecting their execution."

Kim was particularly sharp in her criticism of South Korea's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. She said the US approval and active pursuit of "Seoul's nuclear submarine ambitions," combined with the deployment of advanced missiles, drones and other equipment to the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas, "is making the already unstable regional security situation even more vulnerable." The remarks signal that Pyongyang could use any concrete move by Seoul toward nuclear-powered submarines as justification for further military buildup of its own.

Kim also turned her fire on Japan, citing recent military developments including test launches of long-range cruise missiles. She said "a top-class war criminal state that inflicted indescribable suffering and disaster on humanity in the last century is seizing on the turbulent international situation to accelerate its rearmament — revising its pacifist constitution, reorganizing its military structure and expanding its armed forces at an unprecedented pace, bringing the specter of war to the entire region." She added that Japan's "ambitions to develop and possess long-range offensive weapons are completely at odds with the meaning of a defeated nation."

The speech contained no message on North Korea-US talks, which had drawn considerable attention. Despite Trump having publicly expressed his willingness to meet Kim Jong-un on multiple occasions, Kim Son-gyong made no specific reference to the matter. Trump also included no message to Pyongyang regarding a resumption of dialogue in his own UN General Assembly address. Both sides appear to be continuing a cautious probing stance on the question of talks.

Kim also called for UN reform, saying it must reflect "the will and interests of all equally, not reform centered on a specific country," and declaring that "the era in which a single state unilaterally imposed its will on the world and dominated international politics has come to an end forever" — remarks widely interpreted as directed at the United States.

She expressed confidence in the North's policy of self-reliance on several occasions, saying that despite "countless challenges and obstacles created by the anti-humanitarian schemes of forces that welcome neither our development nor our very survival, we will achieve everything we have set as our goals through our own strength, regardless of how the situation changes." She called this "a confidence shared by every one of our people."

At that point, North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song and other members of the delegation applauded, though representatives from other countries did not respond. A handful of officials from the South Korean, US and Japanese delegations remained in their seats throughout the speech.

It was Kim Son-gyong's second consecutive year delivering the address at the UN General Assembly. North Korea had not sent a high-level delegation to the assembly for six years following the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit, with Ambassador Kim Song delivering the keynote address in the interim. Kim Son-gyong's appearance last year marked the resumption of high-level representation after a seven-year absence.