North Korea calls US and Asian plans to denuclearise country ‘absurd’

FILE – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea on Tuesday criticised the United States and Asian neighbours for pursuing the “absurd” goal of denuclearising the North and said it will push to expand its nuclear forces under the direction of its authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un.

The statement by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry came after the top diplomats of the US, South Korea and Japan met at a security conference in Germany and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening military cooperation and reinforcing an international sanctions regime to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.