REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreSEOUL, Oct 2 (Reuters) - North Korea on Monday denounced the U.N. atomic watchdog for joining a U.S.-led pressure campaign and "cooking up" a resolution over its nuclear programmes, calling the agency a "paid trumpeter" for Washington. An unnamed spokesman of Pyongyang's Ministry of Nuclear Power Industry released a statement criticising a resolution adopted on Friday at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) general conference that calls for the North to curb its nuclear programmes. The spokesman described the resolution as a "result of conspiracy" by the United States and its allies, saying North Korea's status as a nuclear weapons state has already become "irreversible." Grossi warned last year that the reclusive country could resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017. The IAEA has had no access to North Korea since Pyongyang expelled its inspectors in 2009 and then restarted nuclear testing.

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Persons: Tae Sung, Kim Hong, Rafael Grossi, Grossi, Hyonhee Shin, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Pyongyang's Ministry of Nuclear Power Industry, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, DPRK, Democratic People's, Thomson Locations: Gijungdong, Paju, South Korea, SEOUL, North Korea, U.S, Washington, United States, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK, Pyongyang