Kim Yo Jong to U.S.: North Korea’s Nuclear Status Is Here to Stay — Deal With It

North Korea isn’t backing down on nukes — and it wants the U.S. to stop pretending otherwise.

In a sharp statement published Tuesday by state-run KCNA, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a top figure in the regime, said Washington needs to accept the “irreversible” reality that Pyongyang is a nuclear weapons state. Full stop.

“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state… will be thoroughly rejected,” she said, calling that status “fixed by the supreme law” and backed by the “unanimous will” of the North Korean people.

In short: They’re not negotiating that part.

Kim, who runs North Korea’s propaganda machine and serves as a key political voice behind the scenes, said that a fresh look at the geopolitical reality should be the foundation for any future conversations. She made it clear the ball’s in the U.S.’s court — and warned against clinging to old approaches that haven’t worked.

“If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past,” she said, future talks would remain just a “hope” — on the American side, at least.

Kim Yo Jong also commented on the personal rapport between her brother and U.S. President Donald Trump, calling their relationship “not bad.” But she cautioned that trying to use that dynamic to push for denuclearisation would be seen as a joke.

“Any attempt to use their personal relations to advance denuclearisation would be interpreted as a mockery,” she said bluntly.

That swipe came after a White House official, quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap over the weekend, claimed Trump was still open to meeting Kim Jong Un to pursue “full denuclearisation.”

It’s not the first time the North has thrown cold water on that idea — and it likely won’t be the last.

Her comments also brushed off a recent overture by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who halted propaganda broadcasts along the border as a peace gesture. Kim Yo Jong wasn’t impressed. She dismissed Lee’s efforts outright, reinforcing Pyongyang’s view that Seoul has little leverage.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, he’s revived his earlier interest in rekindling dialogue with Pyongyang. He famously met Kim Jong Un three times in 2018–2019 — moments that dominated headlines but failed to deliver real results on disarmament.

Now, North Korea is making it crystal clear: If there’s going to be any more talking, it won’t involve giving up the nukes.

With input from Al Jazeera