North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong has declared that the country’s status as a nuclear weapons power is “irreversible” and warned that any future talks with the United States must begin from that recognition.
In a statement published Tuesday by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior figure in the ruling Workers’ Party rejected any attempt to deny Pyongyang’s nuclear status, describing it as enshrined in law and backed by the “unanimous will” of the North Korean people.
“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state, will be thoroughly rejected,” she said, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
She further noted that a shift in Washington’s approach is essential, “The US should seek another way of contact on the basis of such new thinking.”
Kim’s comments came in response to recent remarks from an unnamed White House official, who told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency that President Donald Trump was open to resuming engagement with Kim Jong Un to achieve a “fully denuclearised” Korean Peninsula.
While Kim acknowledged the personal rapport between her brother and Trump, she warned against overreliance on their relationship.
“Any attempt to use their personal relations to advance denuclearisation would be interpreted as a mockery,” she said.
Kim Yo Jong also dismissed recent outreach attempts by South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung, including his decision to suspend propaganda broadcasts along the border, calling them ineffective in repairing inter-Korean ties.
Since Trump’s return to office in January, his administration has signalled interest in reviving diplomacy with North Korea. The former president held three high-profile summits with Kim Jong Un between 2018 and 2019, including their historic first meeting in Singapore.
However, those talks ultimately failed to halt North Korea’s nuclear development.
Last month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was keen to build on the “progress” made in Singapore, though little has been said publicly about changes in US strategy.
Experts say Kim Yo Jong’s statement reflects a hardening of North Korea’s position. Jenny Town, director of the Korea program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said the message signals a new diplomatic landscape.
“It avoids naming Trump directly, but dispels the notion that ‘denuclearisation’ talks can simply be picked up where they left off,” Town said.
“Too much has changed since 2019, for any notion of resuming talks about denuclearisation to be compelling.”
According to Town, future diplomacy may still be possible, but only under dramatically revised terms.
“It won’t be about denuclearisation,” she added. “But there may be room for talks under a different framing.”
As of now, it remains unclear whether the US is willing to embrace that shift or if North Korea is using the rhetoric to shape future bargaining terms.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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