North Korea Rejects NPT Obligations at UN Conference

North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations declared Thursday that his country is not bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty under any circumstances, rejecting international pressure to comply with its obligations.

The statement, dated May 6 and released by the official Korean Central News Agency, came from Kim Song, Pyongyang's permanent representative at UN headquarters in New York. It was issued during the 11th Review Conference of the treaty, where signatory states gather every five years to assess implementation of the 1968 agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.

Kim asserted that North Korea's nuclear program aligns with its domestic laws and constitution, which formally recognize the nation as a nuclear-armed state. "The position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state does not change in accordance with rhetorical assertion or unilateral desire of outsiders," he said, using the North's official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He described attempts to enforce treaty compliance as a "wanton violation" of international law and the treaty's spirit.

"I denounce and reject in the strongest tone the brigandish and shameless acts of the...