Maybe policy makers should start believing what the Kim regime has been telling them for years that they will never give up their nuclear weapons:
A senior North Korean diplomat reiterated Monday that Pyongyang will never renounce its nuclear program “under any circumstances,” stressing that it has stipulated its nuclear arsenal as a “sacred” and “absolute” asset that can “never be tampered with.”
Speaking at a general debate of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong also expressed the North’s openness to engaging with countries that “respect” and take a “friendly” approach toward his country.
It marked the first speech at the Assembly podium by a high-level North Korean official since 2018 when then Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho attended the gathering.
It sounds like the State Department may finally be recognizing reality when dealing with North Korea now:
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described North Korea as a “nuclear-armed” country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons capabilities, despite the Trump administration’s stated commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of the North.
Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, as he pointed to a series of security challenges facing the United States, including those from China, Russia and Iran.
You can read more at the link, but the next reality the State Department needs to realize is that the Kim regime will never completely give up their nuclear weapons. Once the State Department completely recognizes reality when dealing with North Korea then maybe some kind of deal could be struck.
I think most people at this point agree with the Kim regime that trying to get them to denuclearize at this point is a hopeless endeavor:
North Korea on Tuesday criticized the United States and Asian neighbors for pursuing the “absurd” goal of denuclearizing the North and said it will push to expand its nuclear forces under the direction of its authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un.
The statement by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry came after the top diplomats of the U.S., South Korea and Japan met at a security conference in Germany and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening military cooperation and reinforcing an international sanctions regime to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
Kim Jong-un was going to build his nuclear arsenal further regardless of the military cooperation between the ROK, US, and Japan:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said an elevated U.S. security partnership with South Korea and Japan poses a grave threat to his country and vowed to further bolster his nuclear weapons program, state media reported Sunday.
Kim has previously made similar warnings, but his latest statement implies again that the North Korean leader won’t likely embrace President Donald Trump’s overture to meet him and revive diplomacy anytime soon. In a speech marking the 77th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Saturday, Kim said the U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilateral security partnership established under a U.S. plot to form a NATO-like regional military bloc is inviting military imbalance on the Korean Peninsula and “raising a grave challenge to the security environment of our state,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“Referring to a series of new plans for rapidly bolstering all deterrence including nuclear forces, he clarified once again the unshakable policy of more highly developing the nuclear forces,” KCNA said.
Just like the previous administration the Trump administration is negotiating from a starting point of fantasy if they think the Kim regime will ever negotiate away their nuclear weapons program:
U.S. President Donald Trump will pursue the “complete denuclearization of North Korea,” a White House official said Tuesday, amid questions over whether Trump’s recent reference to the North as a “nuclear power” signaled any policy shift.
National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes made the remarks shortly after the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a nuclear-material production base and a nuclear weapons institute in an apparent move to highlight its military capability.
“President Trump will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term,” Hughes said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency.
If anyone cares, Kim Yo-jong is out make nuclear threats again:
Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, vowed Tuesday to “continuously and limitlessly” bolster the North’s nuclear war deterrent against what it called U.S. threats, denouncing the arrival of a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea.
The remark came a day after the 7,800-ton USS Vermont entered a major naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, to replenish supplies and provide rest for crew members.
“The DPRK’s nuclear war deterrent to cope with and contain various threats from outside is bound to be bolstered up both in quality and quantity continuously and limitlessly as the security of the state is constantly exposed to the U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail,” Kim said in a statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Expect more nuclear rhetoric from Kim Jong-un because currently North Korea is largely being buried in the international headlines due to the Ukraine War and Palestine-Isareal conflict:
North Korea offered a rare glimpse into a secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium as state media reported Friday that leader Kim Jong Un visited the area and called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase the number of his nuclear weapons.
It’s unclear if the site is at the North’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but it’s the North’s first disclosure of a uranium-enrichment facility since it showed one at Yongbyon to visiting American scholars in 2010. While the latest unveiling is likely an attempt to apply more pressure on the U.S. and its allies, the images North Korea’s media released of the area could provide outsiders with a valuable source of information for estimating the amount of nuclear ingredients that North Korea has produced.
It seems like the consensus in South Korea to develop their own nuclear deterrent continues to grow:
Defense minister nominee Kim Yong-hyun said Monday that South Korea’s nuclear armament could be among the options considered to respond to North Korea’s nuclear threats amid high public support for the idea of their country going nuclear.
“That is included among all possible options,” Kim said in a parliamentary confirmation hearing, in response to a question on the possibility of securing room for nuclear armament.
Speaking to reporters last month, Kim said that he was open to all means to respond to North Korea’s nuclear threats, while stressing that the alliance with the United States remains the basis in dealing with such threats.
