Kim Yo Jong rebuffs ARF 'denuclearization' statement, vows to update nuclear capabilities

Kim Yo Jong, a key official in North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, has vehemently denounced the chairman's statement from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) that included a call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. She asserted that North Korea's nuclear capabilities are continuously being strengthened. In a statement released on July 27, Kim described the ARF chairman's statement as "pathetic" for distorting the reality of the Korean Peninsula situation and advocating for "complete denuclearization." She expressed strong dissatisfaction with the "blatant hostile attitude" of the forum, which she claims ignored North Korea's constitution and sided with the U.S.-led push for denuclearization. Kim firmly condemned and rejected this stance in the strongest possible terms. Kim further argued that any attempt to alter North Korea's status as a nuclear-weapon state, which is permanently enshrined in its constitution, through a document lacking legal binding force is a "futile act." She characterized the continued obsession with denuclearization, which she believes has lost its meaning both conceptually and practically, as a failure of strategic thinking and logic, and a manifestation of "ignorant and foolish delusion." She urged the ARF to guard against being used as a mouthpiece for the U.S. if it truly aims to promote regional peace and security. Kim added that the current geopolitical crisis, fueled by the U.S. and its allies, proves that national security is an absolute and critical matter that cannot be delegated to others. She reiterated North Korea's firm stance that its nuclear deterrent is the ultimate shield for its sovereignty and the supreme guarantee of its national rights, declaring its position as a responsible nuclear-weapon state, ensuring the balance of power and geopolitical security on and beyond the Korean Peninsula, as final and irreversible. She concluded by threatening that North Korea's nuclear capabilities will be "continuously updated without a moment's pause." Earlier, on July 23, foreign ministers from the Indo-Pacific region adopted the ARF chairman's statement in Manila. The statement, released on July 25, expressed serious concern over North Korea's ongoing development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, urging full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and calling for "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" for the second consecutive year.

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The pathetic chairman's statement, which distorts the essence of the Korean Peninsula situation and talks about 'complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,' has been released.