The country rebukes the UN atomic agency’s ‘double standards’ and says nuclear status is ‘irreversible’.
Published On 19 Sep 2026
The North Korean Foreign Ministry has dismissed a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that criticises Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
The ministry said on Saturday that its status as a nuclear power is irreversible and backed by its nuclear deterrent, according to a statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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In a separate statement to KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, accused the nuclear watchdog of double standards.
The IAEA’s “biased viewpoint and double standards” are “the fundamental factor causing the collapse of the international nuclear non-proliferation system”, she said.
Kim Yo Jong said the UN nuclear watchdog had turned a blind eye to the “blatant nuclear proliferation activities” of the United States and South Korea’s “nuclear submarine introduction plan”, while the agency forcibly adopted a resolution against North Korea’s “self-defensive and legitimate nuclear activities”.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry also accused “hostile forces” of seeking to bring an end to the country’s nuclear programme during this week’s general conference of the IAEA.
“Pitifully, the ‘resolution’ cooked up by the US and the West has no effect on the DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state,” a foreign ministry spokesperson said, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, its official name.
The state media also reported that Kim Jong Un carried out a three-day inspection tour of major munitions factories this week.
Analysts say North Korea has been overhauling its military with Russian help since the two countries signed a mutual defence treaty in 2024. They say combat experience gained by Pyongyang’s troops deployed to the war in Ukraine has also aided the effort.
Kim Jong Un also gave a lecture to a propaganda workers’ training session in Pyongyang on Friday, KCNA reported, telling attendees modern “ideological warfare” needed to be innovative, creative and aggressive rather than repeating old methods.
Trump’s overtures
While Kim Yo Jong rebuked what she called double standards favouring the US and South Korea, both countries have recently said they want to improve relations with North Korea.
On Friday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that US President Donald Trump wants dialogue with Pyongyang, and Seoul will work to facilitate potential talks.
Trump, seeking to revive the bond he forged with Kim Jong Un in his first term, said last month that he plans to meet the North Korean leader later this year.
The US president said it was important to “get along” with Kim, adding that Pyongyang now had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons.
