N. Korean FM slams G7 nations' call for denuclearization, says its nuclear pursuit remains 'steadfast'

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui denounced Thursday a joint call from major countries for denuclearization of the regime, saying its commitment to nuclear buildup remains "steadfast."

Choe made the remarks in a commentary released by state media, after the Group of Seven (G7) advanced nations issued a joint statement following their foreign ministers' meeting in Paris earlier this week.

The joint statement strongly condemned the North's illicit nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, reaffirming their commitment to realizing the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea in accordance with U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. The UNSC resolutions ban Pyongyang from developing those weapons.

"I strongly condemn and reject the G7's vicious criticism about our state's constitutional right and reaffirm the DPRK's steadfast will for nuclear possession in the clearest terms," Choe said in the commentary, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Immutable is our judgment and stand that our possession of nuclear weapons is the most powerful guarantee for ensuring our national sovereign rights," she said.

Choe said the pursuit of denuclearizing the North is impossible both in theory and practice, accusing the United States and its allies of adopting a double standard as countries like the U.S. and Britain, who are among the G7 members, possess nuclear weapons.

"G7 is not entitled to find fault with or comment on other's nuclear issue," she said.

She reiterated that the North's nuclear weapons possession is a legitimate exercise of its sovereignty, saying that the fact that it is already nuclear-armed proves the G7's "strategic failure."

"Any denial of it means a denial of the truth and an open expression of hostility aimed at confrontation with the DPRK," she added.