(LEAD) N. Korea rejects IAEA resolution, vows to maintain nuclear force amid U.S. threats

Seoul, September 19 - The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong, dismissed a recent United Nations nuclear agency resolution targeting Pyongyang's nuclear program on Saturday, asserting the country's commitment to maintaining the credibility of its nuclear capabilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted in favor of the resolution at its 70th General Conference in Vienna on Thursday, stating that North Korea cannot hold nuclear-weapons-state status under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and urging Pyongyang to halt all nuclear-related activities immediately.

Kim Yo-jong's remarks, published by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), came two days after she reaffirmed her country's status as a nuclear weapons state as absolute and unchangeable, criticizing the IAEA for failing to address the United States' deployment and sharing of nuclear weapons in Europe, its extended deterrence arrangements involving South Korea and Japan, and Washington's plans to share nuclear submarine technology with South Korea.