Kim Yo Jong criticises ASEAN call for denuclearised Korean peninsula

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, criticised ASEAN on Monday after the Southeast Asian bloc called for a denuclearised Korean peninsula.

At its annual regional forum last week, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expressed grave concern over North Korea’s continued development of nuclear weapons. The bloc also stressed the importance of dialogue to achieve lasting peace and stability on a denuclearised Korean peninsula.

In a statement carried by North Korean state outlet KCNA, Kim said she was strongly dissatisfied with what she described as the forum’s hostile attitude.

She accused ASEAN of adopting the United States’ position on denuclearisation and ignoring North Korea’s constitution.

North Korea has long insisted that it has a right to maintain nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, although both are prohibited under United Nations Security Council sanctions. The country formally included its nuclear status in its constitution in 2023.

Kim said in June that North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme was “the line of no retreat.”

Pyongyang has repeatedly described itself as an irreversible nuclear state since Kim Jong Un’s 2019 summit with US President Donald Trump ended without agreement over denuclearisation and sanctions relief.