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Kim Yo Jong denounces an IAEA meeting on North Korea’s denuclearisation, insisting Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear weapons state cannot be reversed. Photo: Screengrab/Reuters, KRT

Kim Yo Jong rejects IAEA call for North Korea denuclearisation

North Korea’s leader’s sister calls the IAEA’s discussion on denuclearisation 'familiar silly talk' and says Pyongyang’s nuclear status is irreversible.

2 min read | Published - 17 Sep 2026, 08:21 am

WRITTEN BY - REUTERS

North Korea: Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, denounced the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) general assembly that discussed the denuclearisation of Pyongyang, state media KCNA reported on Thursday (September 17), calling the meeting "familiar silly talk".

Kim's statement came after the IAEA expressed concern over North Korea's nuclear and missile development and called for denuclearisation measures at the annual meeting of IAEA member states on Monday (September 14), state media reported.

"The DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state is absolute which cannot be reversed with anything," she said, referring to the full name of North Korea.

North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex that could house up to 28 centrifuge cascades, and started operating an expanded annex at its Kangson enrichment site, the IAEA said earlier this month.