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North Korea Rejects U.S. Goal of Denuclearization
March 2025
By Kelsey Davenport
The Trump administration reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to total North Korean denuclearization, a goal that Pyongyang described as impossible and impractical.
In a Feb. 15 trilateral statement, Japan, South Korea, and the United States expressed “their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization” of North Korea and sent a “strong warning” that they will “not tolerate any provocations or threats to their homelands.”
The statement was issued after a meeting in Munich with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi, and South Korean Foreign Minister Korea Cho Tae-yul.
In a Feb. 18 statement in the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea accused the three states of “inciting collective confrontation and conflict on the Korean peninsula” and said that the goal of denuclearization is “outdated and absurd.”
North Korea’s nuclear weapons are necessary for “defending peace and sovereignty” and a “legitimate tool of self-defence,” the statement said, and the country will “consistently adhere to the new line of bolstering the nuclear force.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had cast some doubt on whether denuclearization would remain a U.S. policy goal for the Trump administration. During his confirmation process, Hegseth referred to North Korea’s “status as a nuclear power” in a Jan. 6 questionnaire for the Senate Armed Services Committee.
His statement prompted a backlash in South Korea, whose foreign ministry issued a statement Jan. 15 saying that North Korea “can never be recognized as a nuclear-armed state.” Denuclearization is “a principle consistently upheld” by the international community, the statement said.
When U.S. President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore during his first term of office, the two leaders signed a joint declaration that called for the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” (see ACT, July/August 2018).
Since returning to office, Trump has said he is willing to meet with Kim again. At a Feb. 7 press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Trump said his administration “will have relations with North Korea” and noted that he and Kim got along “very well” during their meetings in 2018 and 2019.
But North Korea’s nuclear doctrine has shifted since 2018 and the country has invested in new military capabilities, including more accurate short-range, nuclear-capable missiles and long-range systems capable of targeting the continental United States.
Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, raised concerns about the intercontinental ballistic missile that North Korea tested in October 2024 during congressional testimony on Feb. 13. The shortened launch time of the solid-fueled Hwasong-19 missile may impact the effectiveness of U.S. early warning systems, he said. He also noted North Korea’s intentions to increase production of its missile systems and warned that this could “narrow [his] confidence” in the Northern Command’s “existing ballistic missile defense capacity in the coming years.”
Furthermore, recent comments by Kim suggest that North Korea is not interested in resuming dialogue with the United States at this time.
In a Feb. 8 speech marking the 77th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army, Kim said his country must bolster its military readiness to “proactively respond” to regional security threats. He reiterated plans for an “unlimited defense buildup” and accused the United States of increasing the risk of conflict by deploying nuclear strategic assets in the region.
On the same day, a KCNA commentary said that North Korea’s nuclear weapons are not a “bargaining chip” and condemned U.S.-led efforts to disarm the country of its deterrent.
The deteriorating relationship between North Korea and South Korea could further challenge any U.S. diplomatic efforts. South Korean outreach to North Korea preceded the Trump-Kim summit in 2018.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also is looking to engage North Korea. At a Feb. 20 press conference in Japan, IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi called for the establishment of an agency presence in North Korea.
The IAEA last accessed North Korea’s nuclear facilities in 2009. Grossi said that “there are areas like nuclear safety where we could try to establish some form of engagement” with North Korea.