North Korea denounces denuclearization as 'pipe dream'

​​​​​​ISTANBUL

North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-ho denounced on Saturday the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a "pipe dream."

"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 in a statement issued by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Pointing to the agreement to place the issue of denuclearization on the agenda of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit talks, he noted that South Korea talks about it "whenever an opportunity presents itself."

"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," added Pak.

South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to hold a summit in South Korea's coastal city Gyeongju on the sidelines of the APEC summit.