▲ Kim Yo-jong, Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea
Kim Yo-jong, Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, pushed back against the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) chairman's statement mentioning the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" on Sunday, stating that North Korea's nuclear capabilities will be "continuously upgraded without a moment of stagnation."
In a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency today, Director Kim criticized the ARF chairman's statement as a "pathetic chairman's statement that talks about the so-called 'complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.'"
In the ARF chairman's statement released on the 25th, foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific region expressed concern over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, while urging the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, denuclearization, and dialogue.
The statement included the expression "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" for the second consecutive year.
In response, Director Kim said, "We express strong discontent with and resolutely condemn and reject, in the strictest rhetorical terms, the explicit hostile attitude of the forum that ignored and violated the Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and chimed in with the 'denuclearization' tune initiated by the United States."
She went on to say, "Remaining obsessed with the 'denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula' is a failure of strategic thinking and logic, and an expression of foolish and ignorant delusion," emphasizing that "there will never be a change in the current situation according to the rhetoric or 'wishes' of any external forces."
Director Kim added, "Our nuclear deterrence is the ultimate shield of state sovereignty and the highest guarantee for defending state sovereignty," and that "the position and significance of existence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as a responsible nuclear-weapon state that guarantees a balance of power and ensures geopolitical stability are final and irreversible."
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