North Korea’s state media has criticized South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for his pledge to cooperate with the United States for the peace and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during his U.S. trip, calling it a “daydream and an absurd hope.”

The North’s Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) issued the criticism on Wednesday in a commentary, reiterating that the North will never abandon its nuclear weapons, which it described as a source of prestige and honor. 

The KCNA said it will not be helpful to anyone if Lee holds onto what it called a “wild dream” about denuclearization, denouncing South Korea as having given up its sovereignty to the United States.

Taking issue with Lee’s remarks in a speech at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies on Monday, the KCNA report said Lee pretended to want to restore relations with the North but showed his true colors as a “confrontation maniac” by mentioning denuclearization.

The report then defended the North’s choice to possess nuclear weapons, saying it is inevitable to deter threats from its enemies and adapt to changes in global security dynamics.