World

North Korea calls its nuclear status 'irreversible'

By Joyce Lee

Sep 19, 2026

North Korea launched ballistic missiles — North Korea has slammed the International Atomic Energy Agency's assessment of its nuclear program. -EPA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ‌powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of double standards after it adopted a resolution criticising Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

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The ‌IAEA's "biased viewpoint and double standards" are "the fundamental factor causing the collapse of the international nuclear non-proliferation system", Kim Yo-jong said in a statement in state media KCNA on Saturday.

She said the agency had turned a blind eye ‌to the "blatant nuclear proliferation ‌activities" ⁠of the United States and South Korea's "nuclear submarine introduction plan", while forcibly adopting a resolution against North Korea's "self-defensive and legitimate nuclear activities".

In a separate KCNA statement, North Korea's Foreign Ministry also dismissed the resolution, declaring that its status as a nuclear power is irreversible and backed by ⁠its nuclear deterrent.

KCNA also said Kim Jong-un carried out a three-day inspection tour of major munitions factories this week.

Kim ‌said North Korea's efforts to modernise all components of its defence capability are bringing about "a significant change" in the composition and means of its armed forces, KCNA said.

Analysts say North Korea has been overhauling its military with Russian help since the two countries signed a mutual defence ‌treaty in 2024. They say combat experience gained by Pyongyang's troops deployed to the war in Ukraine has also aided the effort.

Kim also gave a lecture to a propaganda workers' training session in Pyongyang on Friday, KCNA reported, telling attendees modern "ideological warfare" needed to be innovative, creative and aggressive rather than ⁠repeating old methods.