North Korea rejects ASEAN Regional Forum's denuclearization call as 'foolish attempt'

North Korea on Monday rejected the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum's renewed call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a "foolish attempt."

Pyongyang also insisted that its status as a nuclear weapons state was "final and irreversible."

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong condemned the chair's statement issued after the forum's recent foreign ministers' meeting in the Philippines.

Kim, a senior official of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused the forum of adopting a "hostile attitude."

She said the forum endorsed the US position on denuclearization while disregarding North Korea's constitution, which defines the country as a nuclear weapons state.

"The act of the US and its vassal forces to change the status of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state ... is nothing but a foolish attempt," she said, according to the agency.

Kim said the concept of the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" had lost both its practical and conceptual meaning.

She described continued calls for denuclearization as a "stupid and foolish wild dream."

She said the forum should instead fulfill its role in promoting regional peace and security.

Kim said nuclear deterrence remained the "ultimate shield" for safeguarding national sovereignty.

She pledged that North Korea would continue strengthening its nuclear capabilities "without a momentary stagnation."

The forum's chair statement reiterated support for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

It also expressed concern over North Korea's continued development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.