DPRK warns G7 will 'pay dearly' for rejecting nuclear status
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The DPRK views its nuclear weapons as essential to ensuring its national security and right to exist, and Pyongyang will never agree to relinquish them.
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DPRK flag flies amongst flags from many nations participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics at the Pyeongchang Olympic Village in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Feb. 2, 2018 (AP)
The G7 will face severe consequences for its refusal to acknowledge North Korea's nuclear status, as enshrined in its constitution, DPRK state news agency KCNA reported on Sunday.
This comes after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani issued a statement following the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in New York on Tuesday, where the group condemned the DPRK's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and urged Pyongyang to abandon them.
"They [G7] should know that the DPRK will never give up its nuclear weapons in any case. All the people of the DPRK will defend their constitution at the cost of their lives. We warn G7 not to stick to such a futile deed. G7 will have to pay dearly for violating the national law of the DPRK," the KCNA reported, commenting on Tajani's statement.
The agency further stressed that DPRK views its nuclear weapons as essential to ensuring its national security and right to exist, and Pyongyang will never agree to relinquish them.
Read more: DPRK stages first 'nuclear trigger' drills amid US-S.Korea air drill
Earlier this month, the DPRK unveiled images of its uranium enrichment facility for the first time, showing leader Kim Jong Un inspecting the site and calling for an increase in centrifuges to expand the nation's nuclear arsenal.
Despite conducting its first nuclear test in 2006 and facing a series of UN sanctions over its weapons programs, the DPRK has never previously disclosed specifics about its uranium enrichment operations.
During his visit, Kim toured the Nuclear Weapons Institute and the “production base of weapon-grade nuclear materials,” according to the state-run KCNA, which did not disclose the location or the date of the visit.
📸 #DPRK- North Korea for the first time showed images of the centrifuges that produce fuel for its nuclear bombs, weapons as leader Kim Jong Un visited a uranium enrichment facility and called for more weapons-grade material to boost the arsenal.
— Mete SohtaoÄŸlu (@metesohtaoglu) September 13, 2024
Via @savunmaisleri pic.twitter.com/qDXEQByDSZ
Kim "stressed the need to further augment the number of centrifuges in order to exponentially increase the nuclear weapons for self-defense," KCNA mentioned, releasing images of the leader inspecting rows of the centrifuges.
He also urged the adoption of advanced centrifuge technology to further reinforce the nation's capacity for producing weapon-grade nuclear materials and "stressed the need to set a higher long-term goal in producing nuclear materials necessary."
