In a bold declaration that underscores Pyongyang’s hardened stance, Kim Yo jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has insisted that the United States must formally recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state if it wishes to reengage in diplomacy. Her comments, delivered through the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 29, mark a decisive shift away from any ambiguity regarding the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear status-and signal the regime’s resolve to reshape future negotiations on its own terms.

Kim Yo-jong, a vice department director in the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee and widely seen as one of her brother’s closest and most powerful advisers, dismissed past expectations of denuclearization as obsolete. She emphasized that North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are now “irreversible” and cautioned that any future dialogue must begin with the acknowledgment that the DPRK is a permanent nuclear power.

Her statement reflects a significant evolution in North Korea’s diplomatic posture since the high-profile summits between Kim Jong un and then-US President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019. Those meetings-held in Singapore, Hanoi, and the Korean Demilitarized Zone-were unprecedented in their symbolism and generated hopes for a new era of engagement. However, they ultimately failed to produce a lasting agreement, and negotiations collapsed over disagreements regarding sanctions relief and the scope of denuclearization.

Now, more than five years later, Pyongyang is presenting a starkly different vision for the future.

“Any future DPRK-US talks must be based on the recognition of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons........

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