During the G7 summit currently taking place, the leaders of the world's most powerful nations have addressed various issues relating to the economy, treaties and security, and among the statements they have issued to the world is a formal call for the denuclearisation of North Korea. The Asian nation has responded in its own terms.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister and one of North Korea's most powerful figures, has dismissed the call for denuclearisation as a direct violation of the country's national sovereignty and its constitution. Kim stated via the state news agency KCNA (as reported by Reuters) that North Korea's denuclearisation was an "irreversibly concluded agenda", and that its nuclear and weapons programme is the cornerstone upon which national security and peace rest.
Kim also stated that North Korea's nuclear weapons were a self-defence deterrent acquired in response to what she termed persistent nuclear threats from its enemies, and described them as a "cornerstone" for ensuring peace.
In addition to the call to abandon the nuclear weapons programme, the G7 leaders also called for the release of Japanese citizens abducted in Pyongyang, as well as joint efforts to crack down on cybercrime and cryptocurrency thefts carried out from North Korea. On this matter, the Kim regime has remained silent.