Key facts
- The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) reaffirmed its commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
- Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, rejected the ARF's denuclearization call.
- Kim Yo-jong vowed that North Korea's nuclear arsenal would be 'updated steadily.'
- She stated North Korea's position as a responsible nuclear weapons state is final and irreversible.
- North Korea has now missed the ARF meeting for two consecutive years.
Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has rejected calls for denuclearization from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), asserting that the country's nuclear arsenal will be 'updated steadily.' The ARF, in a statement following its foreign ministers' meeting, reaffirmed its commitment to the 'complete denuclearization' of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner.