North Korea’s foreign ministry on Sunday criticized the United Nations secretary-general’s recent comment about his support for the complete denuclearization of the North, calling the remarks lacking in impartiality and fairness.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA released a statement from the Foreign Ministry after UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Friday that he fully supports efforts for the complete denuclearization of North Korea when he met with the president. South Korean Yoon Suk-yeol.
“I cannot but express my deep regret at the comments of the UN Secretary General, which lack impartiality and justice and go against his obligations, specified in the UN Charter, regarding the issue of Korean peninsula,” Kim Son Gyong, vice minister for international organizations at the North Korean foreign ministry, said in a statement.
Kim added that Guterres should not seek or accept orders from the government of a particular country, but should refrain from any act that could harm his position as an international official who is responsible only to the UN.
Kim said the “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization” of the North is “a violation of the DPRK’s sovereignty,” referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“It calls for unilateral disarmament, and General Secretary Guterres may well know that the DPRK has totally rejected it without any tolerance,” Kim said, adding that Guterres should be careful about speaking “dangerous words” amid the extremely acute situation. the Korean peninsula.
North Korea has tested a record number of missiles this year, and officials in Seoul and Washington say it appears to be preparing to test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017 amid deadlocked denuclearization talks.
