NK leader's sister slams G7 call for denuclearization, defends nuclear arms as 'means of self-defense'

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. Yonhap

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday denounced international calls for denuclearization, describing the country's nuclear weapons as its "core interests" and denuclearization as a "line of no retreat that can never be crossed," Pyongyang's state media reported.

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo-jong criticized the United States and its allies for making what she called "anachronistic" demands for North Korea's denuclearization.

Kim's remarks came in response to a joint statement issued by leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations at their summit in Paris on Wednesday, which reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea in line with U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Dismissing the G7's demand outright, she said denuclearization was "an irreversibly finalized agenda" that "can never be realized."

"Nuclear weapons are powerful means of defending sovereignty and cornerstone for ensuring peace, defined by the law of the DPRK," she said, claiming its nuclear arsenal is "a means for self-defense."

DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"Anyone who tries to hurt the core interests of a nuclear weapons state would make the worst option of inviting disaster," she warned.