Only ‘idiots’ expect North Korea to give up nuclear weapons: Kim Yo-jong

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has stated that the country's nuclear-armed status is "absolute" and cannot be reversed. She called those hoping for North Korea's denuclearisation "idiots". According to Kim Yo-jong, North Korea's nuclear arsenal "makes a significant contribution to deterring the outrageous acts of international rogues".

North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons state, with its leadership declaring the country's nuclear arsenal permanent and irreversible. US President Donald Trump recently estimated that Pyongyang possesses 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, while Seoul put the figure at between 80 and 120, according to the New Straits Times.

Kim Yo-jong made the remarks during the ongoing General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, where she said the "familiar silly talk" of efforts to denuclearise the North was expected. She added that the reality of North Korea's nuclear position has been permanently settled physically and legally and cannot change.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post, New Straits Times, Free Malaysia Today — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.