Trump defense secretary nominee Pete Hesgeth ruffled feathers in S. Korea with his written statement to the Senate panel overseeing his confirmation

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” in a written statement for Tuesday’s confirmation hearing – shattering a longstanding taboo by granting such a designation to Kim Jong-un’s regime and drawing considerable attention in Seoul.

South Korea has rejected a characterization of North Korea as a "nuclear power" by President-elect Donald Trump's defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth. Newsweek reached out to the North Korean embassy in China and Trump's team by email with requests for comment.

Seoul says North Korea ‘can never be recognised as a nuclear-armed state’ under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Seoul stressed Wednesday that Pyongyang cannot hold nuclear state status, rejecting U.S. defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's reference to the North as a "nuclear power."

North Korea cannot be recognized as a nuclear-armed state under the international nonproliferation treaty, and its denuclearization is a principle shared by all parties involved, including South Korea and the United States,