LATEST: Before Xi Jinping’s visit, Pyongyang plays defiance on nuclear power
Latest Developments:
Governments, analysts, and media outlets are continuing to follow this situation closely as additional details become available.
A few hours before the arrival of the master of China on its soil, North Korea has decided to put pressure on its nuclear weapons program. And the clarification this time came from the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Yo-jong. “Our status as a nuclear power is absolutely non-negotiable. We will not tolerate any threats,” Kim Yo-jong said in a column dated Saturday and published by the official daily Rodong Sinmun in its Sunday edition. A nuclear status in the Constitution Kim Jong-un’s sister is officially only the director of the general affairs department of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. But she is considered as her brother’s right arm and confidante, and as a key player in the country’s communication and foreign policy. North Korea engraved in its Constitution in 2023 the irreversible nature of its status as a nuclear power, while the country is under heavy international sanctions. South Korea, the United States and other members of the international community place denuclearization as the precondition for any lifting of sanctions. A nuclear arsenal life insurance for the regime But Pyongyang considers its nuclear arsenal, estimated at a few dozen warheads, as life insurance against any attempt at invasion or overthrow of its regime. A conviction reinforced by the military interventions carried out in recent months by the United States against Iran and Venezuela. Kim Yo-jong’s column reacted to a text published on May 17 by the White House, which assured that during a state visit to Beijing, American President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had “reaffirmed their common objective of denuclearization of North Korea”. “Some officials in the United States have not yet woken up from their unrealistic and anachronistic dreams,” criticized Kim Yo-jong. Support from Beijing “Any attempt by the United States to deny or challenge the nuclear power status of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has no legal value, and no one will be bound by Washington’s unilateral rhetorical statements,” she continued, referring to North Korea by its official name. Our articles on South Korea North Kim Yo-jong’s statements are published on the eve of the arrival in North Korea of Xi Jinping, whose country is Pyongyang’s ally and main economic supporter. In the past, China, concerned about the possibility of regional conflict on its doorstep, supported the principle of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and even voted for several UN Security Council resolutions sanctioning Pyongyang between 2006 and 2017. Its position towards North Korea’s nuclear program has, however, softened since then. China indeed sees North Korea as a buffer state against American forces in South Korea.
Key Developments:
The situation could have broader implications for regional stability, international relations, and global markets.
International media coverage is expected to intensify as more updates become available from official sources.
Stay tuned for further updates on this developing international story.
Source: This article was originally published by 20Minutes – Actu Monde and adapted for our international English-speaking audience.
Read the original article here.