Key facts
- Kim Yo Jong rejected international calls for denuclearization as 'all noises.'
- Kim Yo Jong stated North Korea's nuclear status is 'absolute' and cannot be reversed.
- The IAEA General Conference is discussing North Korea's expanding nuclear capacity.
- An IAEA report detailed increased uranium enrichment capacity and expanded nuclear facilities in North Korea.
- Kim Yo Jong warned of a stronger response to U.S.-led military drills.
- North Korea's defense ministry denounced recent South Korea-U.S. talks on countering WMD.
Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has dismissed international calls for denuclearization as "all noises," asserting that the regime's nuclear status is "absolute" and irreversible. Her statement came as the 70th regular session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference is underway in Vienna, where the conference has expressed concern over North Korea's growing nuclear capabilities and urged Pyongyang to abandon its weapons program.
An IAEA Director General's Safeguards Report on North Korea, released ahead of the session, detailed a significant increase in Pyongyang's uranium enrichment capacity and the expansion of its core nuclear facilities. Kim Yo Jong characterized these calls as unsurprising and ineffective, stating that "No matter how desperately the IAEA and the West may hold periodic meetings and talk about the denuclearization according to the fixed scenario, they can have no effect on the will and ability of the DPRK to take all necessary measures to defend the supreme interests of the state."
She further argued that North Korea's position as a nuclear weapons state is "absolute" and cannot be changed, emphasizing that "The reality in which the nuclear position of the DPRK has been permanently settled physically and legally cannot change even a bit."
A South Korean unification ministry official indicated that the ministry is closely monitoring Kim's remarks, assessing the statement as an effort to communicate to Washington that denuclearization is not a negotiable topic for any potential summit. This comes amid U.S. President Donald Trump's expressed interest in a summit with the North Korean leader.