SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's defence ministry said on Tuesday the denuclearisation of North Korea must continue to be the goal necessary for lasting global peace, after reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had called Pyongyang "a nuclear power."

North Korea defended its right to maintain a nuclear weapons program at a United Nations disarmament conference held shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the North as a "nuclear power.

South Korea rebuked President Trump’s remarks calling North Korea a “nuclear power,” raising concern about the relationship between the two countries. “North Korea’s denuclearization remains a consistent principle upheld by the international community,

Donald Trump’s convention-busting acknowledgement of North Korea as a nuclear power bucks years of US policy – and sets South Korea on edge.

The foreign ministry said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's reference to North Korea as a "nuclear power" aligns with his previous approach on the recalcitrant regime, suggesting that it should not be seen as his administration recognizing it as a nuclear-armed state.