{"id":30613,"date":"2025-07-30T08:10:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=30613"},"modified":"2025-07-30T08:43:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:43:49","slug":"north-korea-demands-us-acknowledge-its-status-as-nuclear-armed-state-rejects-denuclearization-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/north-korea-demands-us-acknowledge-its-status-as-nuclear-armed-state-rejects-denuclearization-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea demands US acknowledge its status as nuclear-armed state, rejects denuclearization talks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

5 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s long-standing goal of North Korea\u2019s complete denuclearization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


North Korea’s Position is “Irreversible”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Yo Jong, who plays a key role in the propaganda operations of the ruling Workers\u2019 Party of Korea, emphasized that the country\u2019s nuclear status is now \u201cirreversible\u201d and legally enshrined in its \u201csupreme law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAny 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,\u201d she said, using the acronym for the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She further stated, \u201cThe DPRK is open to any option in defending its present national position,\u201d suggesting that Pyongyang would not shy away from confrontation if its nuclear identity is challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, delivers a speech in Pyongyang, North Korea, in August 2022. (Image Credit: Korean Central News Agency\/Korea News Service)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Kim urged the United States to recognize that the strategic landscape has transformed significantly since the last round of serious negotiations in 2019. \u201cEverything in the future\u201d should be based on an acknowledgment of these changes, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She added that the continuation of a confrontational approach by Washington would be \u201cby no means beneficial,\u201d suggesting that the United States should explore \u201canother way of contact based on such new thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


No Resumption of Denuclearization Talks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While referencing her brother\u2019s rapport with U.S. President Donald Trump, Kim cautioned against interpreting that relationship as a gateway to denuclearization talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe relationship between the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S. was not bad,\u201d she acknowledged, \u201cbut if the U.S. tries to use it to promote denuclearization, that will be regarded as a mockery.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Yo Jong concluded with a clear warning: \u201cIf the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-U.S. meeting will remain as a \u2018hope\u2019 of the U.S. side.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


US Signals Openness to Dialogue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim\u2019s statement followed remarks over the weekend by a White House official, who was quoted by South Korea\u2019s Yonhap News Agency as saying that President Trump remains open to engaging with Kim Jong Un to achieve a \u201cfully denuclearized\u201d North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"US<\/a>
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands at the first-ever U.S.-DPRK summit in Singapore. (Image Credit: Dan Scavino Jr.\/via NK News)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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 \u201cprogress\u201d achieved during the 2018 Singapore summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s weapons development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Tensions with South Korea Persist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim Yo Jong\u2019s comments also came shortly after she dismissed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung\u2019s 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\u2019s outreach efforts, viewing them as insufficient or insincere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observers note that Kim Yo Jong\u2019s latest remarks are consistent with a broader message that has emerged from Pyongyang in recent years: the country\u2019s nuclear program is no longer on the negotiating table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt avoids naming Trump directly, leaving room for some kind of diplomacy in the future to still be possible, but dispels the notion that \u2018denuclearization\u2019 talks can simply be picked up where they left off,\u201d said one analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"North<\/a>
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un points to a map of the Korean Peninsula at a meeting of the Central Military Commission in Pyongyang, North Korea, on August 9, 2023. (Image Credit: KCNA)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cToo much has changed since 2019, both in terms of North Korea\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf negotiations are possible, the terms of engagement have fundamentally changed,\u201d the analyst continued. \u201cIt won\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Stalemate with No Easy Resolution<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Korea\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201ccomplete, verifiable, and irreversible\u201d denuclearization process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"North<\/a>
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees a strategic cruise missile test aboard a navy warship in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency. (Image Credit: KCNA)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[124,1],"tags":[137,380,208,408,96,108,95,7],"class_list":["post-30613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-news","tag-asia","tag-asia-pacific","tag-diplomacy","tag-korean-peninsula","tag-north-korea","tag-nuclear","tag-south-korea","tag-u-s"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/NK-missile.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-7XL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30613"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30624,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30613\/revisions\/30624"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}