North Korea vows nuclear arsenal 'irreversible' after trilateral talks

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui declared on Thursday that Pyongyang's commitment to retaining its nuclear arsenal is "irreversible" and will remain unchanged indefinitely, responding to recent diplomatic pressure from Washington and its regional allies following trilateral talks in New York.

The statement came after top diplomats from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in New York on Monday to reaffirm their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and urge Pyongyang to return to dialogue. Choe dismissed these demands and issued a defiant message through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), insisting that the country's status as a nuclear weapons state would be everlasting. "As the foreign minister of the DPRK, I reaffirm and reconfirm in the strongest tone of voice the steadfast will of our state to keep nuclear weapons through all ages, which is irreversible in any case and will remain unchanged forever," she said.

Multiple rocket test

Pyongyang also announced on Thursday that it had test-fired 240-millimeter-caliber multiple-launch rockets on Tuesday to verify their strike accuracy and demonstrate what it called their "superiority," the official KCNA news outlet reported. The test formed part of North Korea's five-year plan to modernize its artillery and missile forces, with senior military cadres present to oversee the launch. Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party, stressed the need to "concentrate the deadliest and destructive attack forces on the southern border," according to the agency.

The rockets are equipped with an autonomous pinpoint guidance system capable of striking targets up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) away in trajectory flight mode and 115 kilometers in combined glide mode. Tuesday's launch represents the latest in a series of weapons demonstrations conducted this year as Pyongyang accelerates its military modernization program in defiance of international calls for denuclearization.