North Korea Rejects Nuclear Treaty Obligations, Insists Status ‘Will Not Change’

North Korea has declared it will not comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying its position as a nuclear weapons state is permanent and cannot be reversed by foreign pressure.

The country’s UN representative, Kim Song, made the remarks during a review meeting of the treaty at the United Nations, according to North Korea’s official KCNA news agency on Thursday.

Pyongyang formally withdrew from the treaty in 2003 after first threatening to leave a decade earlier. Since then, it has carried out six nuclear tests and developed what experts believe is a sizeable nuclear arsenal.

Kim accused Washington and its allies of unfairly questioning North Korea’s sovereign rights.

“The United States and certain countries following its lead are groundlessly calling into question the current status and exercise of sovereign rights” of North Korea, he said.

He added that North Korea’s nuclear position was non-negotiable.

“The status of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear-armed state will not change based on external rhetorical claims or unilateral desires,” Kim stated.

“To make it clear once again, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will not be bound by the Non-Proliferation Treaty under any circumstances whatsoever.”

The envoy also noted that North Korea’s nuclear status had been formally written into its constitution, including principles governing the use of nuclear weapons.

The NPT, which became effective in 1970, seeks to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and promote global disarmament. While most countries are signatories, North Korea, Israel, India and Pakistan remain outside the treaty.

Speaking at the review session last week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the treaty was facing growing strain.

“Commitments remain unfulfilled. Trust and credibility are wearing thin. The drivers of proliferation are accelerating,” he said.

Data from SIPRI showed that the world’s nuclear-armed nations held 12,241 warheads in January 2025, with the US and Russia controlling the vast majority.

North Korea’s comments also come amid strengthening military cooperation with Russia during the ongoing war in Ukraine, with reports indicating Pyongyang has supplied troops and ammunition to Moscow in return for economic and technical assistance.

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