North Korea says nuclear status 'irreversible' after UN atomic agency rebuke

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Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. File | Photo Credit: Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, ​Kim Yo Jong, accused the International Atomic Energy ‌Agency on Saturday (September 19, 2026) of double standards ​after it adopted a resolution ⁠criticising Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.

The IAEA’s “biased viewpoint and double standards” are “the fundamental factor causing the collapse of ‌the international nuclear non-proliferation system”, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement ‌in state media KCNA.

She said the ‌agency ⁠had turned a blind eye ⁠to the “blatant nuclear proliferation activities” of the United States and South Korea’s “nuclear submarine introduction plan”, while forcibly adopting a ​resolution against North ‌Korea’s “self-defensive and legitimate nuclear activities”.

In a separate KCNA statement, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry also dismissed the resolution, declaring that its status ‌as a nuclear power is irreversible ​and backed by its nuclear deterrent.

KCNA also said North Korean leader ⁠Kim Jong Un carried out a three-day inspection tour of major munitions factories this week.

Ms. Kim ‌stressed North Korea’s artillery should both fight and deter war with “the most concentrated and destructive, massive and versatile offensive capability”, KCNA said.

Ms. Kim added that North Korea’s efforts to modernise all components of its defence ‌capability are bringing about “a significant change” in the composition ​and means of its armed forces.

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.

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