Kim Yo-jong, North Korea's vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)
North Korea on Thursday denounced the Group of Seven's renewed call for its complete denuclearization, with Kim Yo-jong, the #influential# sister of leader Kim Jong-un, insisting that the country's nuclear status is irreversible and beyond negotiation.
In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, criticized the G7 leaders for once again advocating North Korea's denuclearization during their summit in France, describing the demand as outdated and detached from reality.
Her remarks came a day after G7 leaders on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions.
In a joint statement issued after their summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, the leaders of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan expressed concern over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and urged Pyongyang to resolve the longstanding issue of foreign nationals abducted by the country. The leaders also pledged continued cooperation in countering North Korea's cyber activities and cryptocurrency thefts.
Responding to the statement, Kim argued that the denuclearization issue had already been settled and that repeated calls for North Korea to abandon its nuclear arsenal only demonstrated a failure to recognize geopolitical realities.
She accused the G7 of lacking the legitimacy to challenge what she described as North Korea's sovereign choice and condemned the group's statement as interference in the country's constitutional order.
Kim further maintained that North Korea's nuclear weapons serve as a defensive deterrent developed in response to what Pyongyang views as persistent nuclear threats from hostile states. She argued that the country's nuclear arsenal functions as a guarantor of sovereignty and peace rather than a source of instability.
The statement reiterated Pyongyang's longstanding position that its nuclear capabilities are a permanent element of its national security strategy and that nuclear possession constitutes a core national interest that cannot be compromised.
The latest exchange underscores the widening gap between North Korea and the international community over the future of Pyongyang's nuclear program.
North Korea has repeatedly rejected denuclearization talks in recent years and has strengthened its legal and constitutional framework governing nuclear weapons. In 2022, Pyongyang adopted a new nuclear forces law declaring its nuclear status irreversible, and in 2023 revised its constitution to reinforce the role of nuclear forces in defending the state.
The G7 statement also addressed broader geopolitical issues, including the Indo-Pacific #region#, Ukraine and the Middle East. The leaders welcomed the recently announced US-Iran agreement aimed at ending months of conflict and reaffirmed support for freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, describing unrestricted transit as essential to global trade.
The renewed G7 call for denuclearization comes amid growing speculation over whether US President Donald Trump, following the Iran agreement, could eventually seek to revive diplomacy with North Korea. Pyongyang, however, has continued to signal that it views its nuclear arsenal as nonnegotiable.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com
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