North
Korea's Kim Yo-jong rejected international calls to give up its nuclear
weapons, insisting the status is absolute and irreversible. Vice Defence
Minister Kim Kang Il echoed this at China's Xiangshan forum, justifying arsenal
expansion as a response to U.S.-led military buildup with South Korea and
Japan.
The statements align with Pyongyang's long-standing policy of viewing nukes as a defensive shield, enshrined in its constitution, as tensions persist on the Korean Peninsula despite U.S. interest in dialogue.
