North Korea responds to joint statement of 12 countries on denuclearization

Joint statement and Pyongyang's response

On Friday, October 31, North Korea's Foreign Ministry stated that sanctions and pressure 'may work on the weak, but never on us.' The statement came in response to a call by a group of countries for denuclearization and for measures against Pyongyang's attempts to evade UN sanctions, Anadolu reports.

Who signed the statement

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union called for the 'complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization' of North Korea and demanded an end to 'illegal' weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. In their joint statement, they emphasized that they 'continue to strongly support the full implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea.'

North Korea's Foreign Ministry reaction

The official spokesperson of North Korea's Foreign Ministry called the position of these countries an 'arbitrary violation' of the country's sovereignty and condemned, in the ministry's wording, the attempt by the United States and its 'vassal forces' to justify their 'hostile policy' toward Pyongyang with 'unfair and groundless pretexts.'

Warning to members of the monitoring group

The ministry 'once again warned' the states — members of the multilateral sanctions monitoring group, including South Korea and Japan, as well as the EU — which, according to it, are participating in the 'US-led anti-North Korea carousel of sanctions and pressure,' that they 'will be held accountable for such hostile acts.' Pyongyang added that it intends to 'reliably defend the sovereignty and interests of the country with the strength of its power' and to 'strive to build international relations on the basis of justice and impartiality.'