(MENAFN) North Korea asserted on Monday that its nuclear weapons status is "permanently enshrined" in law and deemed "irreversible," strongly rebuffing U.S. calls for denuclearization. The announcement follows U.S. remarks at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) criticizing North Korea's nuclear arsenal.

In a statement issued by North Korea's permanent mission to the UN, reported by a North Korean news agency, the regime slammed Washington for raising the issue at the IAEA’s recent Board of Governors meeting. "Recently, at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors, the US once again committed a grave political provocation by branding our possession of nuclear weapons as illegal and clamoring about denuclearization," the statement read.

North Korea emphasized that its status as a nuclear weapons state is firmly enshrined in the country's highest legal framework, declaring it to be irreversible.

"We strongly denounce and reject the US provocative act of revealing once again its invariable hostile intention against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and express serious concern over the negative consequences to be entailed by it," the statement continued.

The North also criticized the U.S. for undermining the global nuclear non-proliferation framework, accusing Washington of exacerbating the situation with its own "radical" nuclear arms buildup.

North Korea previously stated it was open to restarting dialogue with the U.S. but only if Washington accepts its status as a permanent nuclear power.

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