Kim Yo Jong: North Korea's Nuclear Status is 'Absolute, Non-Retreatable Red Line'

Kim Yo Jong, a high-ranking official in North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, has strongly refuted U.S. assertions that North Korea and China reaffirmed a shared objective of denuclearization during a recent summit. She declared that North Korea's status as a nuclear-armed state represents an "absolute, non-retreatable red line."

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This is nothing but the U.S.'s habitual spread of disinformation.

Kim's statement, published by the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper, directly challenged claims made by a U.S. State Department spokesperson. The spokesperson had reportedly stated that both sides reaffirmed the common goal of "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Kim dismissed these claims as "habitual U.S. disinformation" and "complete fabrication."

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The U.S. assertion that the two sides reaffirmed the common goal of 'denuclearization'... is a complete fabrication and baseless falsehood.

She further asserted that any U.S. attempts to question North Korea's nuclear status are legally baseless and that no one is bound by unilateral U.S. rhetoric. Kim urged the U.S. to abandon its fixation on "denuclearization," calling it a "delusion." She stressed that the policy of continuously strengthening the nation's self-defensive nuclear deterrence, as declared by the country's leader, is an irreversible conclusion that must be executed unconditionally.

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The U.S. claim that questions the DPRK's status as a nuclear-weapon state carries no legal binding force, and no one will be bound by the U.S.'s unilateral rhetoric.

The timing of Kim's strong statement is significant, coming just one day before Chinese President Xi Jinping's expected visit to Pyongyang. Her declaration underscores North Korea's firm stance on its nuclear capabilities, framing its nuclear status as an undeniable reality irrespective of external recognition or U.S. diplomatic pronouncements.

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Our nuclear-weapon state status is an absolute, non-retreatable red line, and it is an undeniable reality whether anyone recognizes it or not. Reality will never change according to the hopes or rhetorical expressions of external forces.