North Korea renewed its rejection of regional calls to denuclearize, stressing that its nuclear arsenal will continue to modernize, in response to a statement issued by the Regional Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that called for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency reported on Monday that Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, criticized the joint statement issued on Saturday following the annual meeting of foreign ministers of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, which renewed the commitment of the participating countries to the “complete denuclearization” of North Korea.
According to the South Korean Yonhap Agency, the forum’s statement called for international efforts to “completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner.”
Kim Yo Jong said, in her statement, “North Korea’s position is decisive and clear that nuclear deterrence is the ultimate shield for national sovereignty and the highest guarantee for defending sovereignty.”
She added, “The status and importance of North Korea’s existence as a responsible nuclear weapons state to maintain the balance of power and ensure geopolitical security in and around the Korean Peninsula is final and irreversible,” stressing that “North Korea’s nuclear capability will be constantly updated.”
The ASEAN Regional Forum is the only multilateral regional security forum that includes both South Korea and North Korea. However, Pyongyang was absent from this year’s meeting, its second absence in a row, amid many people’s belief that its focus is on strengthening its relations with Russia and China.
Kim Yo Jong made similar statements last June, in which she described North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state as “absolutely irreversible” and an “irreversible line,” pledging not to tolerate any threats against her country.
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