A North Korean minister said on Monday in a rare address to the UN that Pyongyang would never surrender its nuclear weapons but left open the door to diplomacy.
Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Kim Son Gyong made the trip to New York to attend the United Nation's annual high-level week -- a role previously performed at a lower level by the country's ambassador.
"(The) imposition of 'Denuclearization' on the DPRK is tantamount to demanding it to surrender sovereignty and right to existence and violate the Constitution," said Gyong.
"We will never give up nuclear which is our state law, national policy and sovereign power as well as the right to existence. Under any circumstances, we will never walk away from this position."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said last week that he was open to talks with the United States, provided that he can keep his nuclear arsenal, according to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency.
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