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North Korea official says not interested in Iran-style deal

BEIJING — The North Korean ambassador to China said today (July 28) that his country has no interest in an Iran-style nuclear disarmament deal because North Korea is a “nuclear weapons state”.

Under the portraits of the late North Korean leaders, Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, North Korean Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong stands up to leave after a press conference at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, on July 28, 2015. Photo: AP

Under the portraits of the late North Korean leaders, Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, North Korean Ambassador to China Ji Jae Ryong stands up to leave after a press conference at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing, on July 28, 2015. Photo: AP

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BEIJING — The North Korean ambassador to China said today (July 28) that his country has no interest in an Iran-style nuclear disarmament deal because North Korea is a “nuclear weapons state”.

Mr Ji Jae Ryong told reporters that the Iranian nuclear deal reached earlier this month was an achievement made through protracted efforts, but that North Korea was different to Iran because it is “a nuclear weapons state both in name and in reality”.

“We are not interested at all in dialogue to discuss the issue of freezing or dismantling our nukes unilaterally first,” he said at the North Korean embassy in Beijing.

North Korea’s nuclear programme is a major regional concern. International talks over North Korea’s nuclear disarmament have been stalled since early 2009.

North Korean officials called today’s news conference to reiterate Pyongyang’s view that the “hostile policy” by the United States toward it is the root cause of tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The US stations troops in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. AP

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