North Korea's permanent representative to the United Nations, Kim Song, stated that the country is not bound by the global treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The announcement came during the 11th NPT review conference held at UN headquarters.
Pyongyang insisted that its status as a nuclear-armed state is irreversible and will not change based on external rhetorical claims or the unilateral desire of outsiders. North Korea further vowed to strengthen its capabilities and maintained that it will not give up its nuclear arsenal.
Kim Song accused the United States and other countries of tarnishing the atmosphere of the conference by bringing up the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons. In response, South Korea reaffirmed its goal of North Korea's complete denuclearization at the review conference.