Seoul says will continue to push for denuclearisation after Trump calls North Korea 'nuclear power'

Seoul, Jan 21 (IANS) The South Korean government said Tuesday it would continue to push for the North's denuclearisation after US President Donald Trump called North Korea a "nuclear power" as he returned to the presidency for a second term.

Trump made the remark to reporters shortly after his swearing-in ceremony in Washington on Monday (local time), noting he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "got along very well," Yonhap news agency reported.

When asked about President Trump's comments, Seoul's Defence Ministry said the government would continue to seek North Korea's denuclearisation and work closely with the international community toward the goal.

"Denuclearisation of not only the Korean Peninsula but also North Korea should be continually pursued as a prerequisite for permanent peace and stability in the world," Jeon Ha-kyou, the ministry's spokesperson, said in a regular briefing.

An official at Seoul's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean relations separately said South Korea and the US have both maintained a "unified" position for North Korea's denuclearisation.

"South Korea and the US have maintained a firm and unified stance on the goal of North Korea's complete denuclearisation," the official told reporters.

"The government will establish a close cooperative system with the new US administration."

Trump's remarks came after his Defence Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth also described North Korea as a "nuclear power" in written answers to the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of his confirmation hearing last week.

Most US officials have generally been reluctant to openly call Pyongyang a nuclear power as it could be viewed as accepting and legitimising what they have called an illicit weapons program.

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