North Korea says not bound by nuclear non-proliferation treaty

North Korea's ambassador to the UN, Kim Song, has said the country's nuclear-armed state won't change based on external rhetorical claims.

Song said Pyongyang was not bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty on nuclear weapons and external pressure would not change its status as a nuclear-armed state, official media reported.

"At the 11th NPT Review Conference currently underway at UN headquarters, the United States and certain countries following its lead are groundlessly calling into question the current status and exercise of sovereign rights" of North Korea, Song said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on Thursday.

"The status of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a nuclear-armed state will not change based on external rhetorical claims or unilateral desires," he added.

"To make it clear once again, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will not be bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty under any circumstances whatsoever."

He continued that the country's status as a nuclear-armed state has been "enshrined in the constitution, transparently declaring the principles of nuclear weapons use".

North Korea has consistently insisted that it will not give up its nuclear arsenal, describing its path as "irreversible" and vowing to strengthen its capabilities.

North Korea's nuclear programme

Pyongyang first withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1993 and has since conducted six nuclear tests, subjecting it to multiple United Nations resolutions, and is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads.

In 2002, an agreement between North Korea and the US — in which Pyongyang was committed to freeze its plutonium in exchange for aid — collapsed.

In the same year, North Korea admitted to having had a secret nuclear weapons development programme going back several years.

Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test on October 8, 2006, two days after the UN Security Council warned the country that the action could lead to severe consequences. Several other tests followed.

The nine nuclear-armed states — Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea — possessed 12,241 nuclear warheads in January 2025, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported (SIPRI).

Israel remains the only country that possesses nuclear weapons without confirming to possess them.

The US and Russia hold nearly 90 percent of nuclear weapons globally and have carried out major programmes to modernise them in recent years, according to SIPRI.

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Source: TRT