Overview
- North Korea’s foreign minister Choe Son Hui said on Thursday that the country will keep nuclear weapons “through all ages,” calling its nuclear status irreversible and dismissing calls to give them up.
- Pyongyang reported testing updated 240‑millimetre controlled multiple‑launch rockets on September 22 that KCNA said can strike targets up to 115 kilometres.
- South Korean president Lee Jae Myung has proposed a phased approach that would trade a freeze on new nuclear and ICBM development for sanctions relief and incentives to restart talks.
- The United States, South Korea and Japan have publicly reaffirmed their goal of complete denuclearisation while North Korea rejected an IAEA resolution criticising its program.
- Analysts and leaders warn the declaration and recent tests deepen the diplomatic impasse, raise risks of faster weapons production or proliferation, and mean officials will likely watch for further tests or diplomatic moves.