North Korea defended its right to maintain a nuclear weapons program at a United Nations disarmament conference held shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the North as a "nuclear power.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” in a written statement for Tuesday’s confirmation hearing – shattering a longstanding taboo by granting such a designation to Kim Jong-un’s regime and drawing considerable attention in Seoul.

North Korea's state media on Wednesday briefly carried reports on the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, marking its first news reports since he was elected last year.

Donald Trump’s convention-busting acknowledgement of North Korea as a nuclear power bucks years of US policy – and sets South Korea on edge.

South Korea rebuked President Trump’s remarks calling North Korea a “nuclear power,” raising concern about the relationship between the two countries. “North Korea’s denuclearization remains a consistent principle upheld by the international community,