North Korea said it "in no case is bound by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)," responding to discussion of its nuclear issue at the NPT review conference underway at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the U.N., in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on the 7th, said of the country's possession of nuclear weapons that it is "faithfully fulfilling obligations under the national constitution, which has cemented the legal status as a nuclear-weapon state and the Law on the Policy of the State Nuclear Forces," and stated accordingly. The remark indicates the claim that North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons is legal.
Kim then sharply criticized the international community's response to North Korea's nuclear program, including the United States. Kim said, "We condemn in the strongest terms the brigandish and shameless behavior of certain countries, led by the United States, that pick a quarrel with the reality-driven possession of nuclear weapons and the inherent defensive rights of a sovereign state."
He also argued that U.S. extended deterrence policy, among others, runs counter to the spirit of the NPT. He noted, "What should be at the center of implementing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is correcting the treaty violations by the United States and some countries that shirk their nuclear disarmament obligations and routinely engage in proliferation activities such as providing 'extended deterrence' to non-nuclear states and transferring nuclear-powered submarine technology."
The remarks are seen as targeting recent security moves, including strengthened U.S.-South Korea extended deterrence and discussions on introducing nuclear-powered submarines in South Korea.
Regarding the NPT conference, Ambassador Kim said, "The fundamental reason the global nonproliferation regime is weakening is that, according to the impure political schemes of the United States and Western forces, it has lost its original mission and turned into a venue for malicious condemnation of sovereign states," adding, "We will actively contribute to the international community's efforts to ensure international peace and security and to promote global strategic stability."
The NPT, adopted at the United Nations in 1968, is the international community's pledge to curb the spread of nuclear weapons. Member states typically hold a review conference every five years to check treaty implementation, and the 11th conference has been underway at U.N. headquarters for four weeks since on the 27th of last month.
Earlier, North Korea joined the NPT in 1985 but, after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted an ad hoc nuclear inspection and then demanded a special inspection, it announced in 1993 its intention to withdraw, which it later retracted. It then re-declared its withdrawal from the NPT in January 2003. However, the international community, including the United States and South Korea, does not recognize North Korea's status as a nuclear-weapon state.