IRIA News

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North Korea has firmly declared that the United States must accept its status as a nuclear weapons state, dismissing any future negotiations aimed at denuclearization as unrealistic and insulting.

The remarks were delivered by Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in a statement published by state-run media on July 29, 2025.

Her comments represent the latest in a series of warnings from Pyongyang that signal a hardening of its stance and a clear rejection of Washington’s long-standing goal of North Korea’s complete denuclearization.

North Korea’s Position is “Irreversible”

Kim Yo Jong, who plays a key role in the propaganda operations of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, emphasized that the country’s nuclear status is now “irreversible” and legally enshrined in its “supreme law.”

“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state, which was established along with the existence of a powerful nuclear deterrent and fixed by the supreme law reflecting the unanimous will of all the DPRK people, will be thoroughly rejected,” she said, using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

She further stated, “The DPRK is open to any option in defending its present national position,” suggesting that Pyongyang would not shy away from confrontation if its nuclear identity is challenged.

Kim urged the United States to recognize that the strategic landscape has transformed significantly since the last round of serious negotiations in 2019. “Everything in the future” should be based on an acknowledgment of these changes, she said.

She added that the continuation of a confrontational approach by Washington would be “by no means beneficial,” suggesting that the United States should explore “another way of contact based on such new thinking.”

No Resumption of Denuclearization Talks

While referencing her brother’s rapport with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim cautioned against interpreting that relationship as a gateway to denuclearization talks.

“The relationship between the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S. was not bad,” she acknowledged, “but if the U.S. tries to use it to promote denuclearization, that will be regarded as a mockery.”

Kim Yo Jong concluded with a clear warning: “If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-U.S. meeting will remain as a ‘hope’ of the U.S. side.”

US Signals Openness to Dialogue

Kim’s statement followed remarks over the weekend by a White House official, who was quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency as saying that President Trump remains open to engaging with Kim Jong Un to achieve a “fully denuclearized” North Korea.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has reiterated his willingness to resume diplomatic efforts with Pyongyang. Last month, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump would like to build on the “progress” achieved during the 2018 Singapore summit.

That summit was the first-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. It was followed by two more meetings, in Hanoi in 2019 and at the inter-Korean border later that year, but all failed to produce lasting agreements or halt North Korea’s weapons development.

Tensions with South Korea Persist

Kim Yo Jong’s comments also came shortly after she dismissed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s efforts to improve relations with the North. These included a proposed halt to loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the demilitarized zone. Pyongyang has consistently downplayed Seoul’s outreach efforts, viewing them as insufficient or insincere.

The inter-Korean relationship has remained strained in recent years, with North Korea conducting multiple weapons tests and South Korea strengthening its military alliances, particularly with the United States.

Observers note that Kim Yo Jong’s latest remarks are consistent with a broader message that has emerged from Pyongyang in recent years: the country’s nuclear program is no longer on the negotiating table.

“It avoids naming Trump directly, leaving room for some kind of diplomacy in the future to still be possible, but dispels the notion that ‘denuclearization’ talks can simply be picked up where they left off,” said one analyst.

“Too much has changed since 2019, both in terms of North Korea’s WMD development, the legal and policy changes around its nuclear program and status, and the broader geopolitical environment, for any notion of resuming talks about denuclearization to be compelling.”

“If negotiations are possible, the terms of engagement have fundamentally changed,” the analyst continued. “It won’t be about denuclearization, but there may be room for talks under a different framing. However, whether the U.S. is willing to take that leap is yet to be seen.”

Stalemate with No Easy Resolution

North Korea’s demand for recognition as a nuclear state poses a fundamental challenge to U.S. policy, which has long maintained that Pyongyang must abandon its nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief and diplomatic normalization.

Without a significant policy shift by either side, the prospects for renewed talks appear slim. Pyongyang has made it clear that it will not engage in what it sees as disarmament negotiations, while Washington continues to call for a “complete, verifiable, and irreversible” denuclearization process.

For now, both sides appear to be locked in a stalemate, with North Korea continuing to advance its weapons program and the U.S. reiterating its preference for diplomacy, but only under its longstanding terms.