Kim Yo Jong Slams ASEAN Denuclearization Push as 'Stupid'
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- Kim Yo Jong on July 27 attacked ASEAN's July 23 annual regional forum statement urging denuclearization, calling the position a 'stupid and foolish wild dream' that has 'lost its meaning conceptually and practically'
- ASEAN at its July 23 forum expressed 'grave concern' over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development and stressed dialogue for 'lasting peace and stability in a denuclearised Korean Peninsula'
- North Korea enshrined its nuclear status in its constitution in 2023, which Kim Yo Jong cited as proof that denuclearization is no longer a viable concept
- Kim Yo Jong warned ASEAN to guard against 'being misused as a hired mouthpiece for the US,' accusing the bloc of following Washington's anti-Pyongyang line
- Kim Yo Jong said in June that North Korea's nuclear weapons programme is 'the line of no retreat'
- Kim Jong Un's 2019 summit with Donald Trump collapsed over the scope of denuclearization and sanctions relief, after which Pyongyang declared itself an 'irreversible' nuclear state
Why it matters: Kim Yo Jong's dismissal of ASEAN as a 'hired mouthpiece for the US' shows Pyongyang is rejecting even mild multilateral engagement on its nuclear program. With denuclearization enshrined in North Korea's 2023 constitution and called 'the line of no retreat' by Kim Yo Jong in June, the regime has now publicly closed the door on the diplomatic goal of a nuclear-free peninsula.
