North Korean leader's sister denounces denuclearization calls, saying nuclear status is permanent

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North Korean leader's sister denounces denuclearization calls, saying nuclear status is permanent

2025-04-09 11:30 Last Updated At：11:40

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday mocked Washington and its Asian allies for what she called their “daydream” of denuclearizing the North, insisting that the country will never give up its nuclear weapons program.

The statement by Kim Yo Jong, one of the country's top foreign policy officials, was in response to a meeting last week between the top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan where they reaffirmed their commitment to push for the North’s denuclearization.

Noting that North Korea’s goals for nuclear weapons expansion are enshrined in its constitution, she insisted that any external discussions of denuclearization constitute “the most hostile act” and amount to a denial of her country’s sovereignty.

“If the U.S. and its vassal forces continue to insist on anachronistic ‘denuclearization’ … it will only give unlimited justness and justification to the advance of the DPRK aspiring after the building of the strongest nuclear force for self-defense,” she said in comments released by state media, using the initials of North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. She said North Korea’s nuclear weapons status can “never be reversed by any physical strength or sly artifice.”

Tensions in the regions have increased as Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his military nuclear capabilities and align with Russia over President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. Kim is ignoring calls by Seoul and Washington to resume denuclearization talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he would reach out to Kim again to revive diplomacy, but the North has not responded to that offer. Trump and Kim met three times during Trump’s first term, but their diplomacy quickly collapsed over disagreements about ending U.S.-led sanctions in return for North Korea taking steps to wind down its nuclear and missile programs.

Kim’s foreign policy priority is now Russia, which he has supplied with weapons and troops to help prolong its warfighting in Ukraine. Seoul fears that Kim may receive economic assistance and advanced technology to develop his arsenal in exchange for its military supporting Russia.

Kim Yo Jong’s statement came a day after South Korea fired warning shots to repel a group of North Korean soldiers who had crossed the border. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said about 10 North Korean soldiers, some carrying weapons, violated the military demarcation line in the eastern section of the border. When South Korea issued warnings and fired warning shots, they did not return fire and returned to North Korea.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether acting president Han Duck-soo discussed the North Korean nuclear threat with U.S. President Donald Trump during a telephone conversation on Tuesday.

Trump said in a social media post that the two leaders discussed tariffs, trade and Seoul’s payment for what he called the “big time” military protection the United States provides to South Korea. There are concerns in Seoul that Trump might push South Korea to pay significantly more of the costs for the some 28,000 U.S. troops stationed in the country.

Russia batters Ukraine's Odesa and Zaporizhzhia as Kremlin warns peace talks will take time

2025-04-22 21:38 Last Updated At：21:41

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones battered the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and glide bombs hit Zaporizhzhia, local authorities said Tuesday, as the Kremlin again warned that negotiators are unlikely to obtain a swift breakthrough in peace talks on the war.

Ukrainian, British, French and U.S. officials are due to meet in London on Wednesday to discuss the war. Anticipation is building over whether diplomatic efforts can stop more than three years of fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Hostility has run deep since Russia invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that negotiations were “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the war. That came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested the U.S. might soon back away from negotiations if they don't progress.

Rubio has suggested that Wednesday's meeting could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration continues its involvement.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned that “the settlement issue is so complex that it would be wrong to put some tight limits to it and try to set some short time frame for a settlement, a viable settlement — it would be a thankless task."

Western analysts say Moscow is in no rush to conclude peace talks because it has battlefield momentum and wants to capture more Ukrainian land.

Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions.

Odesa came under a “massive attack” by Russian drones overnight, injuring at least three people, the head of the regional administration, Oleh Kiper, wrote on his Telegram page.

A residential building in a densely populated urban area, civilian infrastructure and an educational facility were hit, he said.

Later Tuesday, Russia hit the southern city of Zaporizhzhia with two massive aerial glide bombs — a retrofitted Soviet weapon that for months has used to lay waste to eastern Ukraine.

The attack killed a 69-year-old woman and injured 24 people, including four children, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said there are no plans for talks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s proposal to halt strikes on civilian facilities. He said Moscow is prepared to consider such a step but noted that reaching an agreement could take time.

“While talking about civilian infrastructure, it’s necessary to clearly define when such facilities can be a military target and when they can’t,” he said. “If a military meeting is held there, is it a civilian facility? It is. But is it a military target? Yes, it is. There are some nuances here that need to be discussed.”

The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 54 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine overnight, marking a resumption of long-range attacks that have blasted civilian areas and sown terror.

Russia has stepped up its use of Shahed drones, expanding its production of the weapon and refining its tactics, the International Institute for Strategic Studies said in a recent analysis.

After Putin declared a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday, Ukraine said it was ready to reciprocate but said Russian attacks continued. Zelenskyy asserted that Russia violated the ceasefire more than 2,900 times.

The Associated Press was unable to verify whether a ceasefire was in place along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line.

Meanwhile, both Russia and Ukraine are preparing for the spring-summer military campaign, Ukrainian and Western officials say.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine