Pyongyang Declares Irreversible Nuclear Status, Rejects Denuclearization Talks with US
Pyongyang Declares Irreversible Nuclear Status, Rejects Denuclearization Talks with US
North Korea has issued a stark warning to the United States, demanding the acceptance of its ‘irreversible’ status as a nuclear weapons state and dismissing any future talks aimed at denuclearization as a ‘mockery’. Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un, conveyed this firm stance through the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday.
Kim Yo Jong stressed that recognizing Pyongyang’s evolved capabilities and the radically altered geopolitical environment must be a prerequisite for any future engagement. She explicitly stated that any attempt to deny North Korea’s position as a nuclear power, enshrined in its supreme law, would be ‘thoroughly rejected’.
These assertive comments come amidst renewed interest from US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January, in resuming dialogue with Pyongyang. Despite past summits in 2018 and 2019, which failed to halt North Korea’s nuclear advancements, Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to build on prior ‘progress’ towards a ‘fully denuclearized’ North Korea.
However, Kim Yo Jong’s statement makes it clear that while personal relations between her brother and President Trump may not be ‘bad’, leveraging them for denuclearization goals would be seen as an insult. She urged Washington to ‘seek another way of contact on the basis of such new thinking,’ signaling a fundamental shift in the terms of any potential negotiations.
Experts like Jenny Town, director of the Korea programme at the Stimson Center, affirm that Pyongyang’s latest messaging is consistent with its long-term strategy. Town notes that the landscape has significantly changed since 2019, making traditional denuclearization talks obsolete. Future negotiations, if any, would need a fundamentally different framework, acknowledging North Korea’s nuclear reality.
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