The North Korean leader’s influential sister Kim Yo Jong dismissed calls by a consortium of Southeast Asian states to denuclearize as “stupid” and “foolish” Monday, days after Russia defended the DPRK’s possession of nuclear weapons during a regional security meeting in the Philippines.

Kim’s remarks carried by the Korean Central News Agency referenced a statement issued by the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, which brought together chief diplomats from participating countries last week.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa P. Lazaro, who chaired the event, conveyed in the statementthe forum’s “grave concern over the DPRK’s