N. Korea slams Quad statement calling for Pyongyang's denuclearization
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, addresses a joint press conference along with Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, left, India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, second from left, and Japan's Foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi, second from right, following their Quad Foreign Ministers meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi, May 26. AFP-Yonhap
North Korea on Thursday denounced a recent joint statement by the top diplomats of the United States, Australia, Japan and India that called for the North's complete denuclearization, reiterating that it will never abandon its nuclear weapons.
The foreign ministers of the four nations, known as the U.S.-led multilateral security grouping of the Quad, reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of North Korea in a joint statement issued Tuesday after their meeting in New Delhi.
North Korea's foreign ministry said the Quad took issue with the North's legitimate exercise of sovereignty, claiming it is nothing but a political and diplomatic tool serving the realization of U.S. unipolar dominance.
"Explicitly speaking once again, the 'denuclearization' of the DPRK will never happen forever," a spokesperson at the ministry said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
North Korea said it "resolutely" denounces the U.S.-led Quad's hostile stance against Pyongyang while strongly calling on it to stop the pursuit of confrontation that undermines regional peace and stability.
In an assessment of the North's response, an official at South Korea's unification ministry said Pyongyang has long viewed the Quad as a foundational model to a potential Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and has repeatedly criticized the group.
The official also noted it appeared relatively weaker compared with last year, when the North's ministry issued a formal statement denouncing a similar Quad joint statement against Pyongyang.
According to the ministry, last year's statement focused primarily on criticism of the U.S., while this year's response also targeted Japan and Australia and appeared to defend China's position.