ANKARA

North Korea denounced South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday, accusing him of exposing his “true identity as a hypocrite” by calling for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during a recent visit to the US.

In a commentary published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang criticized Lee’s foreign policy speech Monday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, where he reaffirmed the US-South Korea alliance and warned of strong responses to provocations.

"He even insulted us by calling us ‘poor but fierce neighbors’ and later started talking about the absurd idea of ​​‘denuclearization,’” said the agency.

North Korea also stressed that it will not give up its nuclear weapons.

"Our position of never giving up nuclear weapons, which are our national prestige and national security, is absolutely unchangeable," it said.

It added that North Korea’s status as a nuclear power is an “inevitable choice" that accurately reflects external "hostile threats" and the changing landscape of global security.

During his visit to Washington, Lee suggested that US President Donald Trump meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year, while Trump called the proposal "a very wise suggestion," according to South Korean presidential office spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung.

Trump met with Kim three times during his first term, including once at the Demilitarized Zone which divides the two Koreas.