North Korea's status as a nuclear-weapon state is an "absolutely indisputable peak" and an "undeniable reality," and nuclear weapons are the country's "most powerful argument" in disputes with "power-worshipers," Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was quoted by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
“We will not compromise the country's defense and sovereignty even one iota. The hopes or rhetoric of external forces will not change reality. Nuclear weapons are the most powerful argument in disputes with those who respect power, she said.
According to Kim Yo-jong, North Korea has the right to self-defense against threats from "hooligans who prefer to show force on warships and aircraft" near foreign borders. The country's nuclear forces, enshrined in the Constitution, are "the core of its power and defense" and the protection of North Korea's interests does not depend on external forces, she added.
She was responding to a statement by the US State Department that at the China-US summit in May, the two countries had reaffirmed their shared goal of "denuclearizing" North Korea. "This is just the US's favorite disinformation," said Kim Jong-un's sister. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit North Korea next week.
Under the international Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, only five countries are officially recognized as nuclear powers: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China. North Korea withdrew from the treaty, while enshrining its status as a nuclear power in its constitution. North Korea possesses nuclear warheads and has conducted nuclear tests.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), as of January 2025, North Korea possessed approximately 50 nuclear warheads and had enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more. Production of new nuclear material is also accelerating.
In April 2026, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that North Korea had achieved “very significant“ progress in its nuclear program, particularly through the construction of a uranium enrichment facility. Kim Jong-un has announced plans to expand the country's nuclear forces “exponentially“.