Kim Jong-un’s sister slams G7 call for denuclearisation, defends nuclear arms as ‘means of self-defence’

Seoul: Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on Thursday denounced international calls for denuclearisation, describing the country’s nuclear weapons as its “core interests” and denuclearisation as a “line of no retreat that can never be crossed,” Pyongyang’s state media reported.

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo-jong criticised the United States and its allies for making what she called “anachronistic” demands for North Korea’s denuclearisation, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim’s remarks came in response to a joint statement issued by leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations at their summit in Paris on Wednesday, which reaffirmed their commitment to the “complete denuclearisation” of North Korea in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

Dismissing the G7’s demand outright, she said denuclearisation was “an irreversibly finalised agenda” that “can never be realised.”

“Nuclear weapons are powerful means of defending sovereignty and a cornerstone for ensuring peace, defined by the law of the DPRK,” she said, claiming its nuclear arsenal is “a means for self-defence.”

DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“Anyone who tries to hurt the core interests of a nuclear weapons state would make the worst option of inviting disaster,” she warned.

The leaders of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy issued the statement on geopolitical issues concerning the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Ukraine, following their meeting in Evian-les-Bains from Monday to Wednesday.

“We express deep concern about North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs and reaffirm our commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions,” they said in the statement.

They also urged Pyongyang to “immediately” resolve the issue of abductees, who are thought to have been kidnapped by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, and reiterated the need to jointly address North Korea’s cryptocurrency thefts and cybercrimes.

IANS