Senior NK diplomat says nuclear status can never be reversed 'in any circumstances'

WASHINGTON — A senior North Korean diplomat reiterated Monday that Pyongyang's status as a "nuclear weapons state" can never be reversed "in any circumstances" or "by any means," stressing that the claimed status has been "uncompromisingly and permanently fixed." Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong made the remarks in an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, defending North Korea's nuclear deterrent as an "irresistible" force to defend sovereignty and security against external threats. His remarks came a week after South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyon, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated their "resolute" commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of the North and called on the North to resume dialogue in a joint statement last week. "The DPRK's nuclear deterrent is the absolute might and irresistible force designed from A to Z to safeguard the sovereignty, security and peace against aggression and threat from outside," he said. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Ko