North Korea’s foreign ministry criticized the UN secretary general’s recent comment on his support for the North’s complete denuclearization, calling the remarks lacking in impartiality and fairness, according to Reuters.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA published a statement from the foreign ministry after UN chief Antonio Guterres said he fully supported efforts to fully denuclearize the country at a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday. North Korea.
“I can only express my deep regret for the UN Secretary-General’s comments, which are grossly lacking in impartiality and fairness and contravene his service obligations, specified in the UN Charter, regarding the issue of the Korean Peninsula,” he said Kim Son Gyong, a senior representative of the ministry.
The UN Secretary-General should not ask for or take orders
Kim added that the UN secretary-general should not seek or take orders from the government of a particular country, but should refrain from any act that could affect his position as an international official answerable only to the UN.
Kim also said the North’s “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization” (CVID) is “a violation of DPRK sovereignty,” referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea tested a record number of missiles in 2022
“This calls for unilateral disarmament, and Secretary-General Guterres probably knows very well that the DPRK has totally rejected it without any tolerance,” Kim said, adding that Guterres should be careful when speaking “dangerous words” amid the tense situation from 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 as denuclearization talks stall.