The International Atomic Energy Agency said Pyongyang’s weapons program was “deeply regrettable”.
The United Nations:
North Korea has accused the UN agency responsible for regulating atomic energy of being a puppet of hostile countries after a new report said the isolated nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile breached the international law.
Pyongyang gradually built an atomic stockpile after abandoning the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003, and tested several nuclear bombs in the years that followed.
Since Kim Jong Un succeeded his father as the country’s supreme leader, the North Korean military has made rapid progress in its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and has been subject to further international sanctions. more stringent.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, whose inspectors have not been allowed to enter the country for more than a decade, said Wednesday that Pyongyang’s weapons program was “deeply regrettable”.
North Korea’s nuclear activities “remain a source of serious concern,” agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a report to the UN General Assembly.
Pyongyang’s ambassador to the UN later replied in the same forum, telling other diplomats that the IAEA report was “grossly distorted.”
“The IAEA is nothing more than a political tool of Western countries,” he said, adding that the body was “a puppet dancing to the rhythm of hostile forces” against North Korea.
Nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States have stalled since a summit collapsed between Kim and President Donald Trump in Hanoi early last year.
It is widely believed that North Korea continued to develop its arsenal – which it says it needs to protect itself from a US invasion – throughout the talks.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
