South Korea’s top nuclear envoy denounced North Korea on Monday for harboring an “empty dream” in using nuclear threats as the means to be recognized as a nuclear state from the international community, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.

South Korea’s top nuclear negotiator, Kim Gunn, made the remarks Monday during a discussion session on nuclear anxieties in the Indo-Pacific region, as he attended the Munich Leaders Meeting in Tokyo, according to the ministry.

Kim criticized the North for seeking to be recognized from the international community with nuclear threats, and establishing relations with nations in the region to “suit its taste,” the ministry added.

The nuclear envoy appears to refer to the geopolitical situation, in which the North is striving to strengthen nuclear capabilities and seeking closer ties with China and Russia vis-a-vis the United States’ push to bolster trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan.

Kim also urged the international community to closely cooperate in blocking the North from illegally earning foreign currencies, as the North has sent its workers abroad and engaged in illicit cyber activities to fund its nuclear and missile programs.

On the sidelines of the international conference, Kim met with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, to discuss the North’s nuclear issues, the ministry added.

Source: Yonhap News Agency