Kim Yo Jong, director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Workers' Party of Korea [Screenshot from the Korean Central News Agency website]

Kim Yo Jong, director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Workers' Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, condemned the phrase "complete denuclearization of North Korea" in the Group of Seven (G7) summit's joint declaration as an "overreach" and reiterated that North Korea will firmly maintain its nuclear status.

In a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on the 18th, Kim stated, "We express strong dissatisfaction and regret over the G7's overreach, which constitutes a direct violation of our state constitution, and we unequivocally condemn and reject it in the clearest terms."

She criticized, "The G7, the main culprit destroying world peace and security and the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, has neither the right to discuss the sovereign choices of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea nor the right to oppose them."

Kim pointed out, "They cannot possibly not know that 'denuclearization,' a finalized matter, can never be achieved, and if they truly do not know, it only reveals their lack of political judgment and deficiency in sense of reality."

She argued, "There can be no foolish act greater than sitting idly by in the face of military threats accompanied by nuclear weapons. The nuclear weapons we have acquired to defend ourselves, having faced constant and persistent nuclear threats from adversaries, will not concern anyone except those adversaries who wish to harm us."

This asserted the legitimacy of North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons, not as offensive tools, but as deterrents for regime defense.

Kim emphasized, "Nuclear weapons are a powerful means of sovereignty protection granted by the republic's law and the cornerstone of peace assurance. Our nuclear weapons, as a self-defensive and responsive measure, will have an unchangeable identity and permanence."

She further threatened, "Nuclear possession is our core interest that must be upheld, and 'denuclearization' is an irreversible line that can never be crossed. In any case, touching upon the core interests of a nuclear weapons state to anyone will be the worst catastrophic choice."

G7 leaders, gathered in Évian-les-Bains, France, expressed deep concern over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs in their joint declaration on the 17th (local time) and urged the realization of "complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions."

Leaders of invited countries, including South Korea, India, Kenya, Brazil, and Egypt, also signed the joint declaration in accordance with matters they agreed upon.