North Korea calls its nuclear programme 'irreversible' on the eve of Xi's visit

According to SCMP from Hong Kong, the North Korean Foreign Ministry's Sunday statement targeted the "goal of denuclearising the Korean peninsula" cited by the United States after last month's Trump-Xi summit. Pyongyang noted that the Chinese readout did not mention the nuclear issue, and Kim Yo-jong, the leader's sister, dismissed the White House framing as "false information."

President Xi Jinping's state visit starting Monday coincides with the 65th anniversary of the 1961 Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance between China and the DPRK; a Korea scholar at Renmin University told SCMP that the visit's central message would be "political reassurance and economic loosening." Chinese exports to North Korea in 2026 reached US$4.1 billion, a 19% increase on the previous year.

Washington said it would hold its regular review of North Korea policy on Monday. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it had met with China's ambassador after the Pyongyang statement and would maintain the denuclearisation objective. In regional markets, South Korea's Kospi closed down 0.8%, while Japan's Nikkei finished little changed.