North Korea says its nuclear weapons state is irreversible

SEOUL (Reuters) -The permanent mission of North Korea to the United Nations said the country’s position as a nuclear weapons state was irreversible, denouncing U.S. “anachronistic” claims for denuclearisation, state media KCNA reported on Monday.

“The position of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear weapons state which has been permanently specified in the supreme and basic law of the state has become irreversible,” the DPRK permanent mission to the UN Office and international organizations in Vienna was quoted as saying.

DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

While criticising the U.S. push for denuclearisation as a “provocative act” of interfering in its internal affairs, Pyongyang defended its nuclear weapons as an “inevitable option” of defending the country from U.S. nuclear threats.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Chris Reese)