Kim Jong-un's sister dismisses nuclear disarmament as a 'stupid and foolish pipe dream'

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has sharply criticized the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for its call for a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula. She expressed "great dissatisfaction with the undisguised hostile attitude of the forum," according to state news agency KCNA.

Kim argued that ASEAN is echoing U.S. rhetoric on "denuclearization" while disregarding North Korea's constitutional status as a nuclear power. She described the continued insistence on denuclearization as a failure of strategic thinking and logic, calling it a "stupid and foolish pipe dream" that has long lost its meaning. Kim also warned ASEAN against being "abused as a paid mouthpiece of the USA."

At a regional forum last week, ASEAN expressed "grave concern" over North Korea's nuclear weapons program and called for dialogue toward denuclearization. The bloc includes Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Kim Yo-jong is considered one of her brother's closest confidants and a key figure in North Korea's foreign policy. In June, she declared that North Korea's status as a nuclear power was "absolutely non-negotiable." Despite UN Security Council sanctions, North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile programs, formally enshrining its status as a nuclear power in its constitution in 2023.

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great dissatisfaction with the undisguised hostile attitude of the forum