North Korea has declared that it is not bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and insisted that external pressure will not alter its status as a nuclear-armed state, according to state media reports on Wednesday.
The statement was made by Pyongyang’s ambassador to the United Nations during a review meeting of the landmark treaty held at the UN.
North Korea’s UN envoy, Kim Song, said the United States and its allies were “groundlessly” questioning the country’s sovereign rights and current status.
He stressed that North Korea’s position as a nuclear-armed state “will not change based on external rhetorical claims or unilateral desires”.
“To make it clear once again, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will not be bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty under any circumstances whatsoever,” he said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea initially threatened to withdraw from the NPT in 1993 before formally exiting the treaty in 2003.
Since then, the country has conducted six nuclear tests, drawing widespread international condemnation and a series of United Nations sanctions.
Pyongyang is widely believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads, although the exact size of its arsenal remains unclear.
The NPT review meeting at the United Nations continues to assess global nuclear non-proliferation commitments amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
