Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has rejected international calls for Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, insisting that the country’s status as a nuclear-armed state is “absolute” and irreversible.
Kim made the remarks in a statement carried by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday, as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held its 70th General Conference in Vienna.
She dismissed calls for North Korea’s complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation as “familiar silly talk”, arguing that international discussions would not change Pyongyang’s nuclear policy.
“The DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state is absolute which cannot reverse with anything,”
Kim said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The IAEA conference has raised concerns over the expansion of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and called on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme in line with its international obligations.
Kim argued that North Korea’s nuclear status had been permanently established both physically and legally, adding that efforts by the IAEA and Western countries to promote denuclearisation would have no effect on the country’s determination to maintain its nuclear capabilities.
Her comments come amid renewed attention to possible US-North Korea dialogue. US President Donald Trump has previously expressed interest in meeting Kim Jong Un again, after holding three meetings with the North Korean leader during his first term.
The two sides’ previous diplomatic efforts stalled after their 2019 summit in Hanoi failed to produce an agreement on sanctions relief and North Korea’s nuclear programme.
North Korea has continued to expand its nuclear capabilities since the collapse of those negotiations. Recent statements from Pyongyang have also reiterated that it considers its nuclear status irreversible.
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