The White House says it will never acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear power.

A high-ranking Korean government official visiting the United States met with South Korean correspondents in Washington who quoted President Barack Obama’s national security advisor Jim Johnson as making the comment.

The South Korean official expressed concerns over speculation that the U.S. may acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear power.

He explained that there seems to be some confusion over the terminology used by Washington in recent weeks in regards to how the U.S. defines the nuclear status of the communist state, but he was assured the U.S. holds firmly to its stance not to recognize North Korea as a nuclear power.