Message sent: "We will remain a nuclear power forever"; "Our offensive capabilities will be the deadliest"

Choe was responding to trilateral talks among senior diplomats from South Korea, the United States and Japan held in New York on Monday, during which they reaffirmed their commitment to the “complete” denuclearization of North Korea and called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue, Yonhap reported.

“As the Foreign Minister of the DPRK, I reaffirm in the strongest possible terms my country’s unwavering determination to retain nuclear weapons forever. This decision is irreversible in any circumstances and will remain unchanged forever,” Choe said in a statement carried by KCNA.

She warned that attempts to deny North Korea its right to self-defense would, in her view, only confirm the justification for Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons policy, provide grounds for further strengthening its nuclear capabilities, and further harden North Korea’s position toward the United States and other hostile states, Kyodo reported.

“There is no change in the fact that the DPRK’s status as a nuclear power will be permanent,” Choe said.

“The most destructive and deadliest strikes”

Meanwhile, North Korea also announced that it had conducted a test launch of an upgraded guided rocket for a 240-millimeter multiple rocket launcher system, as part of a five-year modernization plan for its artillery and missile forces.

The test launch was overseen by Ko Pyong-hyon, chairman of North Korea’s Second Economic Committee.

KCNA reported that the upgraded 240-millimeter rocket is equipped with an autonomous precision-guidance system, providing a range of 100 kilometers in ballistic flight mode and up to 115 kilometers in a combined glide-flight mode.

According to the report, the test confirmed the accuracy and performance characteristics of the upgraded system.

North Korean officials said that the development of extended-range guided rockets represents a “major change” in the country’s firepower readiness along its southern border.

Speaking about the country’s leader’s plan to modernize the armed forces and prioritize the development of ground-based artillery and missile units, North Korean officials said the country should “concentrate the most destructive and deadliest offensive capabilities” along its southern border.

According to KCNA, North Korean leaders reiterated their view that creating “extreme insecurity and fear” among adversaries is an important element of deterring war.

On Tuesday, North Korea successfully tested a new weapon demonstrating “ultramodern defense technology” in the presence of the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

NK News, a Seoul-based outlet specializing in North Korea, reported that the projectile appears to be an upgraded variant of a missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle.