North Korea’s Choe Vows to Keep Nuclear Weapons Forever, Rejects Denuclearization Call

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said on September 24 that Pyongyang's will to keep nuclear weapons "through all ages" is irreversible and will remain unchanged forever. Her statement answered a September 21 joint statement in New York in which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea's complete denuclearization. Choe called denuclearization an unrealistic target, said the strong-arm policy against Pyongyang had failed and described nuclear weapons as the core component of the country's sovereignty. She said louder allied calls for denuclearization would only justify strengthening those weapons.