The foreign minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Wednesday that Pyongyang's buildup of nuclear force is targeted solely at the US.
"We have no intention to use nuclear weapons or threaten with nuclear weapons against any other country except the US, unless it joins action of the US against DPRK," said Ri Hong Yo in a statement to the 24th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Manila.
DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho (L) walks toward an escalator for an ongoing meeting at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional security forum in Manila on August 7, 2017. /AFP Photo
This is the only multilateral meeting that the DPRK foreign minister attended during a series of ASEAN meetings. Besides the UN, the ARF is the only venue that gathers dignitaries from the DPRK, South Korea, Japan, China, Russia, the US, the EU and ASEAN, as described by Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar.
Ri said the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula was created and developed into the present phase today by the US, adding that the DPRK's possession of nuclear weapons and ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) is a legitimate option for self-defense.
He condemned the US for "trying to internationalize the issue of the Korean Peninsula by abusing the United Nations" by claiming that the DPRK's possession of nuclear weapons is a "global threat."
Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Cayetano (center L) holds a meeting with DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on the sidelines of the 50th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional security forum in Manila on August 7 2017. /AFP Photo
The foreign minister also said the DPRK will not put its self-defensive program on the negotiating table, and that it would continue to strengthen its nuclear capabilities.
Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono said "heated discussions" about DPRK's missile tests took place at the forum and 27 foreign ministers showed support for pressure to be exerted on the DPRK and for a new UN Security Council resolution to be fully implemented.
Before the forum, the US, Australia and Japan made a joint statement urging the global community to apply additional measures on Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program.
The ARF participants include the 10 ASEAN members, the EU, and sixteen countries including China, Australia, the DPRK, South Korea and the US. Organizers said the forum has implemented some 300 confidence building measures in the region.
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