North Korea slams South Korea’s president over call for denuclearisation

North Korea has denounced South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, accusing him of exposing his “true identity as a hypocrite” by calling for denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula during a recent visit to the US.

In a commentary published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang criticised Lee’s foreign policy speech on Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, where he reaffirmed the US-South Korea alliance and warned of strong responses to provocations.

"He even insulted us by calling us ‘poor but fierce neighbours’ and later started talking about the absurd idea of ​​‘denuclearisation,’” said the agency.

North Korea also stressed that it will not give up its nuclear weapons.

"Our position of never giving up nuclear weapons, which are our national prestige and national security, is absolutely unchangeable," it said.