Ministry of Unification "Complete denuclearization of North Korea, international community consensus"

The Ministry of Unification reiterated that it does not recognize North Korea as a nuclear power, saying the government and the international community remain firm and consistent on North Korea's complete denuclearization goals.

A Unification Ministry official told reporters today that Pete Hegseth, the second Trump administration's nominee for defense secretary, responded to an official statement on North Korea's description of the country as a "nuclear state."

The government then explained that it will continue to work closely with the international community, including the new administration of the United States, to promote the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

In a written response to the Senate Armed Services Committee's confirmation hearing earlier, candidate Hegseth described North Korea as a "nuclear power" and said that the North Korean nuclear threat poses a global threat as well as the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific.

Since then, the White House has reaffirmed the U.S. government's position that it does not officially recognize North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons, although it says it cannot talk about the position of the incoming administration's security team.