North Korea Denounces ‘Absurd’ Denuclearization Pledge by US and Allies 

A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) clapping during a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 10,000 flats in Pyongyang's Hwasong area, North Korea, 16 February 2025 (issued 17 February 2025). (EPA/KCNA)
A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) clapping during a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 10,000 flats in Pyongyang's Hwasong area, North Korea, 16 February 2025 (issued 17 February 2025). (EPA/KCNA)
TT
20

North Korea Denounces ‘Absurd’ Denuclearization Pledge by US and Allies 

A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) clapping during a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 10,000 flats in Pyongyang's Hwasong area, North Korea, 16 February 2025 (issued 17 February 2025). (EPA/KCNA)
A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) clapping during a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of 10,000 flats in Pyongyang's Hwasong area, North Korea, 16 February 2025 (issued 17 February 2025). (EPA/KCNA)

North Korea's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it will keep bolstering its nuclear force, denouncing a recent joint pledge by the United States, South Korea and Japan for its denuclearization, according to state media KCNA.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi held talks on Saturday on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich and issued a statement, reaffirming their commitment to North Korea's complete denuclearization.

Pyongyang's foreign ministry criticized the countries for pursuing an "outdated, absurd" plan, warning against seeking what it called "foolish acts inciting collective hostility and conflicts."

"As long as the US and its vassal forces' hostile threat exists, the DPRK's nukes are means for defending peace and sovereignty and a means for legitimate self-defense entrusted by the constitution of the state," an unnamed ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried by KCNA, vowing to continue strengthening its nuclear force.

The spokesperson was referring to North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

South Korea's foreign ministry urged the North to cease its illicit weapons programs and return to the path to denuclearization.

"North Korea will never be recognized as a nuclear weapons state," ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong told a briefing. "We hope that they will realize that the development of nuclear weapons and missiles will only hinder their own security and economic development."

The three-way meeting was their first since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who held unprecedented summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term and has touted their personal rapport.

South Korean lawmakers, after being briefed by the National Intelligence Service, have said that Pyongyang's recent missile tests were in part intended to "show off its US deterrent assets and drawing Trump's attention."

Also in Seoul, South Korea's military said on Tuesday it has deployed a domestically developed new bunker buster missile named the Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile (KTSSM).

The missile - nicknamed Ure, which means thunder in Korean - is capable of conducting simultaneous, precision strikes in a short span of time against North Korea's long-range artillery systems that could threaten the greater Seoul area in the event of a contingency, the military said in a press release.



Trump Says He Is in No Rush to Talk with Iran

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (L) and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (L) and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Trump Says He Is in No Rush to Talk with Iran

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (L) and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (L) and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on July 15, 2025. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Tehran was hoping to engage in discussions with the United States, but he is in no rush to talk with Iran.

"They would like to talk. I'm in no rush to talk because we obliterated their site," Trump told reporters after his arrival in Washington after a trip to Pittsburgh, referring to US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last month.