North Korea rules out nuclear talks ahead of Xi's visit

SEOUL: Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has declared that North Korea's status as a nuclear-armed state is "absolutely irreversible" and will not be subject to negotiations, according to a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Saturday. The announcement comes just days ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's scheduled visit to Pyongyang on Monday, his first trip to North Korea in nearly seven years. Kim Yo Jong also rejected U.S. claims that Xi and President Donald Trump confirmed a shared goal of denuclearization during their May summit in Beijing, calling the reports "false" and asserting that North Korea possesses the most accurate information regarding such discussions. The statement by Kim Yo Jong, who serves as a department director of the Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee, emphasized that North Korea's nuclear weapons program represents an "unconditional" and "irreversible" policy. She justified the continued strengthening of military capabilities by pointing to what she described as persistent military threats from hostile countries, including Washington's recent approval of a potential sale of Joint Direct Attack Munition precision bombs to South Korea. Earlier this week, North Korea unveiled a new uranium-enrichment facility where Kim Jong Un called for an "exponential" expansion of the country's atomic arsenal. Analysts have noted that the new nuclear materials production factory appears designed to bolster North Korea's negotiating position ahead of the Xi-Kim summit while providing justification for accelerating its nuclear build-up. Separately, Kim Jong Un visited a major munitions factory and ordered missile production capacity to be increased by 2.5 times over the next five years, according to North Korea's state newspaper The Rodong Sinmun. Xi's visit represents Beijing's effort to reinforce ties with its only formal treaty ally as the international community continues to grapple with North Korea's advancing weapons programs.