Pyongyang is not giving up its nuclear program

North Korea has rejected South Korea's offer to receive development aid in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons, saying it is non-negotiable. North Korean adviser Sang Beom Lim was speaking at a "right of reply" session at the end of the annual UN General Assembly speeches when diplomats from all countries respond to arguments made by other countries in their speeches.

He spoke hours after North Korean Vice Minister Pak Kil Jon said US "hostile policies" were to blame for continued tensions on the divided Korean peninsula. Pak said in the UN General Assembly that the US is striving for military dominance in Northeast Asia and that it has designated North Korea as the "first target of attack", AP reports.

Pak also said that the US is abusing its power in the UN Security Council and that the January resolution that tightened sanctions on North Korea due to the launch of a long-range missile is not correct. Sang later said at a "right to answer" session that North Korea "and its people have been living with nuclear weapons and bombs over their heads for decades."

Given these "provocations," North Korea has no choice but to acquire nuclear weapons itself as a deterrent, he added. He rejected South Korea's offer of economic aid in exchange for North Korea's verifiable denuclearization, saying the nuclear shield was necessary to protect North Korea from South Korea and the US.