A spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Monday issued the following press statement "Hostile acts of infringing upon our inviolable national sovereignty will never be tolerated":

In connection with the prevailing unpardonable situation, in which the sovereignty of the DPRK has been seriously violated by an act of running counter to the UN Charter and all principles of international law with equal sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs as their core, the DPRK Foreign Ministry states as follows:

At a ROK-Japan-China tripartite summit held on Monday under the sponsorship of the ROK, a "joint declaration" calling for maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region and denuclearizing the Korean peninsula was made public.

It is a mockery of and trickery against the regional countries and the international community that the ROK is talking about "denuclearization", "peace and stability" as it has brought a grave security crisis to the Korean peninsula and the rest of the Northeast Asian region by frantically strengthening military alliance for aggression with hegemonic forces outside the region.

As regards the grave political provocation of denying the constitutional position of the DPRK, committed at an international meeting sponsored by the ROK, the DPRK Foreign Ministry strongly denounces and rejects it as a blatant challenge to the sovereignty of the DPRK and wanton interference in its internal affairs.

To discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula today constitutes a grave political provocation and sovereignty violation that totally denies the DPRK’s inviolable sovereignty and constitution reflecting the unanimous will of all the Korean people, before being an issue concerning any international duty or justification.

It is an insult never to be pardoned and a declaration of war against the DPRK that the ROK, in the most hostile relations with the DPRK, attempts to force the DPRK to violate its constitution in denial of its sovereign rights.

It is an undeniable fact and history that the U.S. nuclear threat, which has lasted for more than half a century, triggered off the DPRK’s access to nuclear weapons and that hostile acts and military blackmail by the U.S. and the ROK have been a decisive factor of accelerating the DPRK’s steady advance for bolstering up its nuclear force.

Various U.S.-led military blocs exist throughout the Asia-Pacific region including the Korean peninsula and the "nuclear consultative group" aimed at using nuclear weapons against the DPRK is operating. Furthermore, regional peace and stability are exposed to serious threats due to the U.S. and its vassal countries’ ceaseless war drills for aggression. Given this grave security environment, denuclearization will only bring a nuclear crisis, instead of peace and stability.

Denuclearization on the Korean peninsula means a power vacuum and hastened war.

If anyone tries to deny or violate the constitutional position of our country as a nuclear weapons state, preaching the benefits of denuclearization to us, it will be regarded as the most serious infringement upon sovereignty forcing us to renounce our constitution and social system.

Such thing as "complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula" has already died out theoretically, practically and physically.

The DPRK will firmly defend the dignity and sovereignty of the nation and its people and its constitution from all sorts of attempts of the hostile forces to deny its absolute sovereignty, and make crucial efforts to build a new mechanical structure in the region based on justice and equity.

Rodong Sinmun