PYONGYANG — North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho on Saturday denounced the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a “pipe dream,” according to a statement issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“We will show with patience that denuclearization is a ‘pipe dream’ which can never be realized even if it (South Korea) talks about it a thousand times,” Pak said.

He criticized South Korea for continuing to raise the issue, citing its agreement to place denuclearization on the agenda of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit talks.

“The ROK (Republic of Korea) is still unaware that struggling to deny the DPRK’s (North Korea) position as a nuclear weapons state and talking about its daydream of realizing the denuclearization just reveal its lack of common sense,” Pak added.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold a summit in the coastal city of Gyeongju on the sidelines of the APEC summit. — Agencies