Kim Yo Jong reaffirmed on June 7 that North Korea’s status as a nuclear-armed state is irreversible and will never be compromised. She said, “The policy of continuously strengthening self-defensive nuclear war deterrence, as declared by the head of state, is an irreversible and final conclusion that must be executed unconditionally” [1]. She added in Mandarin, “我们作为核武大国的地位绝对不容谈判,” meaning the country’s standing as a nuclear power is non-negotiable [2].
Kim Yo Jong also rejected US claims that Chinese President Xi Jinping and former US President Donald Trump agreed on North Korea’s denuclearization during their May summit, calling such reports “false” and “a typical disinformation tactic by the US” [1, 3]. US officials have said Xi and Trump reaffirmed a denuclearization commitment, but North Korea firmly disputes these statements [4].
Earlier in June, North Korea unveiled a new uranium enrichment facility to bolster its nuclear material production capability [1, 5]. On June 6, Kim Jong Un inspected a major munitions factory, ordering missile production to increase by 2.5 times over the next five years [1, 6].
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang on June 8 for a summit, his first visit to North Korea in nearly seven years [1, 5]. Ahead of the trip, Xi published a signed article proposing four measures to deepen China-North Korea cooperation, including strategic communication and opposition to hegemony [7].
During talks on June 8, Xi and Kim Jong Un discussed broadening cooperation on diplomacy, security, economy, and people-to-people exchanges [8, 9, 10]. Kim called China-North Korea relations “a top state strategic priority” and pledged to make developing them a “first state priority” [8]. Xi described the two countries as “socialist neighbors who stand together, sharing fate and mutual support” and said their traditional friendship is “unbreakable and enduring” [7].
The summit marks the 65th anniversary of the China-North Korea Friendship and Cooperation Treaty and comes amid North Korea’s continued nuclear and missile expansion efforts [7, 2].
