Why did North Korea say it is keeping its nuclear arsenal?

North Korea said its nuclear program is needed to protect its sovereignty and security against external threats. Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong made that case in an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, calling the program an irresistible force.

What did North Korea accuse the United States of in its nuclear memorandum?

North Korea accused Washington of driving the global nuclear order into the worst crisis through nuclear proliferation activities. It said the U.S. had abandoned disarmament obligations, expanded and modernized its nuclear forces, and withdrawn from arms-control treaties.

How did North Korea link AUKUS and submarine cooperation to its nuclear warnings?

North Korea said U.S. cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines with Seoul and Tokyo, together with AUKUS, showed a nuclear alliance taking shape in the Asia-Pacific. It warned that this could eventually push South Korea toward its own nuclear weapons program.

N. Korea blames US for 'worse crisis' in nuclear order, justifies its arsenal

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Summary

North Korea accused the United States of pushing the global nuclear order into its worst crisis and used the charge to defend its own nuclear arsenal. The accusation came in a foreign ministry memorandum carried by KCNA, hours after Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong told the U.N. General Assembly in New York that North Korea’s nuclear program is an irresistible force for protecting sovereignty and security. The memorandum blamed Washington for nuclear proliferation, arms-control withdrawals and cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines with Seoul and Tokyo.

Key Facts

The foreign ministry memorandum said the United States had abandoned its disarmament obligations as a nuclear-weapon state.
North Korea cited U.S. nuclear buildup and modernization, along with its withdrawal from arms-control treaties, as evidence of global nuclear proliferation.
The memorandum pointed to U.S. nuclear-powered submarine cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo and to AUKUS as signs of a nuclear alliance forming in the Asia-Pacific.
North Korea said such cooperation could eventually lead South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons program.
The document said North Korea would act to safeguard the security interests of its country and the region.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 29, 2026 8:57 am KST

North Korea's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Son-gyong addresses the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Monday (local time). AP-Yonhap

North Korea on Tuesday accused the United States of driving the global nuclear order into "the worst crisis" through its "nuclear proliferation activities" and used the accusation to defend its own nuclear program.

The accusation came in a foreign ministry's "memorandum" carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), hours after Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong told the U.N. General Assembly in New York that North Korea's nuclear program is an "irresistible" force needed to protect its sovereignty and security against external threats.

Washington has "irresponsibly abandoned its disarmament obligations as a nuclear-weapon state," the memorandum said.

Its rapid buildup of nuclear forces and "blatant" nuclear proliferation, it said, left Pyongyang no choice but to "play a more active role" "as a responsible nuclear-weapon state."

The document cast the U.S. as the main culprit behind global nuclear proliferation, citing its nuclear buildup and modernization and its withdrawal from arms-control treaties.

North Korea also pointed to U.S. nuclear-powered submarine cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, and to AUKUS, a security partnership of the U.S., Britain and Australia, as evidence of a nuclear alliance taking shape in the Asia-Pacific region.

Such cooperation could eventually lead South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons programs, it claimed.

This "grave reality," it said, will guide North Korea's actions as it moves to "safeguard the security interests of our country and the region."

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