North Korea\u2019s nuclear weapons programme is \u201cabsolutely non-negotiable\u201d, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said in a statement carried by state media on Sunday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pyongyang has long insisted<\/a> on its right to a nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programmes although they are forbidden under the terms of UN Security Council sanctions. It enshrined its nuclear status in its constitution in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur status as a nuclear power is absolutely non-negotiable,\u201d Kim\u2019s sister Kim Yo Jong said in a statement published by North Korea\u2019s official Rodong Sinmun<\/em>, adding that the North \u201cwill not tolerate any threats\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A key player in the country\u2019s communications and foreign policy, Kim Yo Jong\u2019s statement came on the eve of Xi\u2019s visit<\/a> to North Korea, scheduled to take place from Monday to Tuesday, according to state media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beijing is a vital source of political and economic support to North Korea, which is one of the most diplomatically isolated countries in the world and under heavy international sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Xi\u2019s upcoming visit to Pyongyang would be his first in seven years, and comes after he hosted back-to-back summits with US President Donald Trump and Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an \u201cirreversible\u201d nuclear state since Kim Jong Un\u2019s 2019 summit with Trump collapsed<\/a> over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Korea\u2019s leader has since been emboldened by the war in Ukraine<\/a>, securing critical support from Moscow after sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He inspected a major munitions factory at the weekend and called for it to boost production capacity, according to a separate report by the official Korean Central News Agency<\/em> (KCNA<\/em>) on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was \u201cin order to supply enough quantity of missiles\u201d, KCNA<\/em> quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>False information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n