Pyongyang has claimed that North Korea is in an entirely different situation from Iran and thus will not give up its nuclear program.
 
The Voice of America on Wednesday quoted an official of the North’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations as saying that the recent deal Iran struck on its nuclear program is irrelevant and of no interest to the regime.
 
The official claimed that Iran would not have decided to give up its nuclear program if the United States held joint military drills with Saudi Arabia near its territory, referring to the regular joint military drills between South Korea and the U.S. on the Korean Peninsula.
 
Mentioning U.S. President Barack Obama’s comment in January that North Korea is bound to collapse, the official said the U.S. is publicly committing itself to “crush to death” the North, so Pyongyang can’t be bound by past promises of denuclearization.