Deputy permanent representative of the North Korea to the United Nations said his country supports the idea of a complete ban on nuclear weapons in the world, but intends to keep its nuclear arsenal while the United States has one.

“The DPRK constantly supports the complete elimination of the nuclear weapons and efforts for the denuclearization of the entire world, but as long as US, who constantly threatens and blackmails DPRK with nuclear weapons, rejects NBT [Nuclear ban treaty], DPRK is not in position to accede to the treaty,” Kim In Ryong told the UN General Assembly First Committee on Monday.

The possession of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles is a justified measure for self-defense, as no country in the world has been exposed to such an extreme and direct nuclear threat from the United States for such a long time, the diplomat said.

In Ryong stressed meanwhile that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has reached a critical point, warning that a nuclear war can begin at any moment.

Source: Sputnik