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.

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,