North Korea rejects IAEA nuclear resolution

North Korea dismissed a UN atomic watchdog resolution renewing demands that it halt nuclear activities, saying it has “no effect” because Pyongyang is not an International Atomic Energy Agency member, state media KCNA reported Saturday.

A North Korean foreign ministry statement on Friday accused “hostile forces” of trying to end the country's nuclear programme during this week's IAEA general conference.

A foreign ministry spokesperson said North Korea's status as a nuclear weapons state did not need recognition from the United States, Western countries or the IAEA, and said it was fixed by the country's law and nuclear deterrent.

The spokesperson said North Korea was positioned to implement strategic and long-term plans for building what it called a self-defensive deterrent.

North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state, and its leadership has described its atomic arsenal as permanent and irreversible. US President Donald Trump said in August that Pyongyang has 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons, while Seoul has put the figure at between 80 and 120.

Trump has expressed willingness to resume dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said last month that he planned to meet him later this year. In a separate statement on Thursday, Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong said the country's nuclear-armed status was “absolute” and called those hoping for denuclearisation “idiots.”