North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's sister says country's nuclear programme 'absolutely non-negotiable'

North Korea's nuclear weapons programme is "absolutely non-negotiable," the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.

"Our status as a nuclear power is absolutely non-negotiable," the sister, Kim Yo Jong, said in a statement carried by North Korea's official Korea Central News Agency, adding the North "will not tolerate any threats."

North Korea has long insisted 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.

But the statement from Kim Yo Jong, who is considered a key player in the country's communications and foreign policy, comes on the eve of Xi's visit to North Korea that state media say will last from Monday to Tuesday.

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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.

The upcoming meeting will be Xi's first official overseas trip this year, and comes after he hosted back-to-back summits with US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin last month.