Vienna: Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has dismissed international appeals for denuclearization as "all noises," asserting the regime's nuclear status as "absolute."

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Yo-jong made these remarks in a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), coinciding with the 70th regular session of the IAEA General Conference in Vienna, Austria. The conference has raised concerns about North Korea's growing nuclear capabilities, urging Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Ahead of the session, the IAEA had published its Director General's Safeguards Report on North Korea, highlighting a significant increase in Pyongyang's uranium enrichment capacity and the expansion of its core nuclear facilities. However, Kim Yo-jong dismissed these calls, stating they were "all noises, not surprising and not new."

She emphasized, "No matter how desperately the IAEA and the West may hold periodic meetings and talk about the denuclearization according to the fixed scenario, they can have no effect on the will and ability of the DPRK to take all necessary measures to defend the supreme interests of the state." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

Kim declared that North Korea's position as a nuclear weapons state is "absolute," insisting that the reality of the DPRK's nuclear status being permanently settled both physically and legally cannot be altered. "No one and nothing can ever reverse the crucial changes in the strength and position of the DPRK and prevent them in the future, too," she added.

A South Korean unification ministry official noted that the ministry is "taking note" of Kim's remarks. This comes against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump expressing interest in a summit with the North Korean leader. The ministry reportedly assessed Kim's statement as an indication that denuclearization is off the table for any potential summit with Washington.

Furthermore, North Korea has continued to respond to developments regarding its weapons programs and regional security issues. Recently, a spokesperson for its defense ministry denounced talks between South Korea and the U.S. on countering its weapons of mass destruction (WMD). At the annual Combined WMD Countermeasures Committee meeting, Seoul and Washington agreed to enhance information sharing on North Korea's WMD as Pyongyang advances its nuclear and missile capabilities.

This statement marked North Korea's first response to the director-level consultative body, which the two allies established in 2017, according to an official.