North Korea slams G7 denuclearization call as 'double standard'

North Korea has launched a fierce rebuttal against the Group of Seven nations, accusing them of applying a "double standard" by demanding Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons. The sharp criticism from Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui came in response to a recent G7 foreign ministers' communique that strongly condemned North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reiterated calls for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

A Constitutional Defense

In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Choe Son Hui condemned the G7's position as an "undisguised hostile act" and a direct violation of North Korea's Constitution, which now enshrines its status as a nuclear weapons state. She expressed "strong dissatisfaction and regret," arguing that in the current tense geopolitical environment, a nuclear deterrent is North Korea's most justified option for national survival. "No one has the right to force us to violate the Constitution and they should not try to make us amend it," she declared.

Permanent Nuclear Reality

The Foreign Minister reiterated leader Kim Jong Un's stance that North Korea's nuclear forces are a permanent fixture, regardless of international objections. She dismissed decades of denuclearization talks as futile, suggesting that such calls would remain irrelevant even for the next hundred years. Choe asserted that true peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, a matter of strategic interest for neighboring powers including Türkiye, hinges not on what she called "unrealistic 'denuclearization'" but on respecting North Korea's sovereign choices and constitutional provisions.

The G7 Position and Broader Tensions

The G7, comprising some of the world's most advanced economies, had collectively voiced grave concern over North Korea's ongoing weapons development and other illicit activities, such as cryptocurrency theft. This diplomatic clash underscores the deep and seemingly unbridgeable divide between Western powers and Pyongyang, highlighting the complex challenges in managing global non-proliferation efforts and regional security dynamics.