“Final and irrevocable” characterized North Korea its position as a nuclear power, even rejecting its calls G7 “refrain” from any testing of new nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles.

In particular, the country’s Foreign Minister Cho Song Hui described the position of the G7 as “extreme interference” in the country’s internal affairs, believing that the governments of the group of seven most industrialized countries in the world “viciously” attacked the “legitimate exercise of national sovereign rights” of its countries.

North Korea’s “position” as a world-class nuclear power is final and irreversible,” Cho said in a press release issued by the official North Korean news agency, KCNA.

“Closed Club of Selfish Spaces”

According to the minister, the G7, “a closed club of several selfish countries, does not represent the international community (in) an honest way, it is a political tool designed to guarantee US hegemony.”

Only twenty-four hours earlier, the G7 foreign ministers had demanded that North Korea “refrain from any further destabilizing or provocative actions” and embark on a “complete, verifiable and irreversible renunciation of its nuclear weapons.”

The door for negotiations on Pyongyang’s nuclear disarmament, a fortiori after Cho’s appointment, now appears to be closed for good.

Since last year, Pyongyang has increased its ballistic missile tests and insists its status as a nuclear power is “irreversible.”

Anger over US-South Korea cooperation

Cho, in a statement, called it “an anachronistic idea to think that only Washington has the right and ability to launch nuclear strikes.” He added: “As long as we have the ability to respond to US nuclear threats, we will not ask anyone for recognition or permission.”

The US and South Korea have stepped up military cooperation and dramatically expanded their joint military exercises, angering North Korea, which sees the exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion of its territory.

The Korean War (1950-1953) ended with a mere truce, and no peace agreement was signed. Technically, North Korea and South Korea remain at war.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP, Reuters.}