The powerful sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has mocked Washington and its Asian allies for what she called their "daydream" of denuclearising the North, insisting that the country will never give up its nuclear weapons programme.
The statement by Kim Yo-jong, one of the country's top foreign policy officials, was in response to a meeting last week between top diplomats of the US, South Korea and Japan where they reaffirmed their commitment to push for the Pyongyang's denuclearisation.
Noting that North Korea's goals for nuclear weapons expansion are enshrined in its constitution, she insisted that any external discussions of denuclearisation constitute "the most hostile act" and amount to a denial of her country's sovereignty.
"If the US and its vassal forces continue to insist on anachronistic 'denuclearisation' … it will only give unlimited justness and justification to the advance of the DPRK aspiring after the building of the strongest nuclear force for self-defence," she said in comments carried by state media.
She said North Korea's nuclear weapons status can "never be reversed by any physical strength or sly artifice."
Tensions in the regions have increased as Kim Jong-un continues to flaunt his military nuclear capabilities and align with Russia over President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Kim has also ignored calls by Seoul and Washington to resume denuclearisation talks.
US President Donald Trump has said he would reach out to Kim again to revive diplomacy, but the North has not responded to that offer.
Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term, but those diplomatic efforts quickly collapsed over disagreements about ending US-led sanctions in return for North Korea taking steps to wind down its nuclear and missile programmes.
Kim's foreign policy priority now is Russia, which he has supplied with weapons and troops to help prolong the fighting in Ukraine.
Seoul fears that Kim may receive economic assistance and advanced technology to develop his arsenal in exchange for its military supporting Russia.
Kim Yo Jong's statement comes a day after South Korea fired warning shots to repel a group of North Korean soldiers who had crossed the border.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said about 10 North Korean soldiers, some carrying weapons, violated the military demarcation line in the eastern section of the border.
After the South fired warning shots, the soldiers returned to the North.
It wasn't immediately clear whether acting president Han Duck-soo discussed the North Korean nuclear threat with US President Donald Trump during a telephone conversation on Tuesday.
Trump said in a social media post that the two leaders discussed tariffs, trade and Seoul’s payment for what he called the "big time" military protection Washington provides to South Korea.
There are concerns in Seoul that Trump might push Seoul to pay significantly more of the costs for the some 28,000 US troops stationed in the country.
