North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations says his country has no interest in a nuclear disarmament deal similar to that of Iran's, because North Korea is already a "nuclear weapons state."
Ambassador Jang Il Hun says his country's nuclear weapons program is necessary to protect North Korea from what he calls the United States’ "hostile policy" towards the North.
"We are already a nuclear weapons state, both in name and in reality, and as such, as a nuclear weapons state we have our own interest, and we are not interested at all in holding any dialogue on discussing the unilateral freeze or dismantlement or abandonment of our nuclear weapons."
Earlier, North Korea's ambassador to China made similar remarks after a U.S. official suggested the recent deal with Iran could set an example for solving North Korea's nuclear issue.
Jang Il Hun rejected the proposal, saying North Korea is in a different situation.
"We recognize that the Iranian nuclear deal is a fruition of the long standing effort of the Iranian government to have its right to independent nuclear activities recognized and to dismantle the sanctions regime, but our case is totally different."
The United States and five world powers reached an historic deal with Iran earlier this month that will limit Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting sanctions from the US, EU and UN.
North Korea is also sanctioned by the three parties for procuring equipment related to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The country's nuclear program is a major regional concern and international talks over the issue have been stalled since early 2009.
