North Korea says nuclear status 'irreversible' after UN atomic agency rebuke

North ​Korean leader Kim Jong Un's ‌powerful sister, ​Kim Yo Jong, accused the International Atomic Energy Agency on Saturday of double standards after it adopted a resolution ‌criticising Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. The IAEA's "biased viewpoint and double standards" are "the fundamental factor causing the collapse of the international nuclear non-proliferation system", Kim Yo Jong said in a statement in state ‌media KCNA.

She said the agency had turned a blind eye to the "blatant nuclear ‌proliferation activities" of the United States and South Korea's "nuclear submarine introduction plan", while forcibly adopting a resolution against North Korea's "self-defensive and legitimate nuclear activities". In a separate KCNA statement, North Korea's Foreign Ministry also dismissed ⁠the ​resolution, declaring that its ⁠status as a nuclear power is irreversible and backed by its nuclear deterrent.

KCNA also said North Korean ⁠leader Kim Jong Un carried out a three-day inspection tour of major munitions factories this week. Kim ​said North Korea's efforts to modernise all components of its defence capability are ⁠bringing about "a significant change" in the composition and means of its armed forces, KCNA said.

Analysts say North Korea ⁠has ​been overhauling its military with Russian help since the two countries signed a mutual defence treaty in 2024. They say combat experience gained by Pyongyang's troops ⁠deployed to the war in Ukraine has also aided the effort. Kim also gave a lecture ⁠to a propaganda ⁠workers' training session in Pyongyang on Friday, KCNA reported, telling attendees modern "ideological warfare" needed to be innovative, creative and aggressive rather than ‌repeating old ‌methods.