PYONGYANG, July 27. /TASS/. North Korea’s status of as a nuclear state is final and irreversible, and the republic's nuclear potential will be continuously strengthened, Kim Yo Jong, head of a department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stated as quoted by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"No matter what anyone says, the status and significance of the DPRK's existence as a responsible nuclear state, which ensures a balance of power and guarantees geopolitical security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, are final and irreversible. North Korea’s nuclear power will be continuously renewed without the slightest pause," she emphasized in response to a document by the Chairman of the ASEAN Regional Forum, which contained a call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Kim Yo Jong expressed "serious dissatisfaction" with the forum's position and resolutely rejected it.

She stressed that North Korea’s status as a nuclear state, enshrined in the constitution, cannot be changed by "a single document that has no legally binding force whatsoever." She called the commitment of the United States and its satellites to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula a "defeat of strategic thinking" and a "foolish dream," noting that this concept has long lost its meaning in every respect.

"Our position is consistent and clear: nuclear deterrence forces are a reliable shield for state sovereignty and the best guarantee for the protection of state power," Kim Yo Jong concluded.

The ASEAN Regional Forum serves as a platform for discussing political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific region. Its work involves ASEAN countries and partner states.