North Korea’s influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong, has firmly condemned the Group of Seven (G7) nations’ renewed call for the country’s denuclearisation, labeling it a violation of North Korea’s constitution and a direct infringement on its sovereignty.

According to a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Thursday, Kim Yo Jong declared that denuclearisation is an “irreversibly finalised agenda” that can never be realised. She stressed that North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons is a core national interest and an “irreversible line” that will not be crossed.

“Denuclearisation is the line of no retreat that can never be crossed,” Kim was quoted as saying. She warned that any attempt to undermine the core interests of a nuclear weapons state would amount to “the worst option of inviting disaster.”

Kim Yo Jong defended the North’s nuclear arsenal as a legitimate self-defensive deterrent, built in response to persistent nuclear threats from its adversaries, particularly the United States. She described the weapons as a “cornerstone” for ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

She dismissed international demands for denuclearisation as “completely out of date,” asserting that such calls would have no effect regardless of how loudly they are repeated by groups like the G7.

The latest rebuttal comes shortly after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a newly operational nuclear material production facility in early June. During the visit, Kim Jong Un announced plans to expand the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate,” stating that production capacity for weapons-grade nuclear material has more than doubled over the past five years.

International estimates currently place North Korea’s nuclear warhead stockpile at around 50, with ongoing efforts to increase both the quantity and sophistication of its arsenal.

Kim Yo Jong’s statement also aligns with Pyongyang’s recent rejection of claims that the United States and China share a common goal of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula following their May summit. She has repeatedly described such assertions as “false” and an “anachronistic dream.”

The G7 has continued to press North Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in line with UN Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang shows no signs of yielding. Instead, the reclusive state continues to accelerate weapons development while viewing its nuclear capability as essential for regime survival and national security.

No immediate response from G7 officials to Thursday’s statement has been reported. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula remain high amid the impasse over denuclearisation. (ILKHA)