North Korea's leadership rejected U.S. calls for denuclearization on Sunday, one day before Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit the country for talks with leader Kim Jong Un. The statement marks Xi's first visit to North Korea in seven years.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior government official, called U.S. efforts to denuclearize North Korea an "anachronistic dream." She said North Korea would continue expanding its nuclear arsenal in response to what she characterized as U.S.-led threats.

"The U.S. assertion to backbite the status of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state has no legally binding force and no one will be bound by the U.S. unilateral rhetoric," Kim Yo Jong said, using the abbreviation for North Korea's official name. She also disputed U.S. claims that President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping had confirmed a shared goal of North Korean denuclearization during their recent Beijing summit, calling it "false information."

North Korea has been expanding its nuclear program since diplomatic talks between Kim Jong Un and Trump collapsed in 2019. During a visit to a nuclear materials production facility last week, Kim Jong Un said North Korea would strengthen its nuclear forces "at an exponential rate." State media also reported that Kim visited a weapons factory and called for increasing missile production capacity by 2.5 times under a five-year plan.

Analysts suggest Xi's visit is primarily aimed at reasserting China's influence over North Korea, whose foreign policy has increasingly aligned with Russia in recent years. North Korea has provided troops and conventional weapons to support Russia's war in Ukraine and has reportedly received economic assistance from Russia in return.

Experts believe Xi will likely avoid directly addressing denuclearization during his meetings with Kim Jong Un and may instead focus on offering economic assistance programs. The visit comes as North Korea continues to position itself as a nuclear weapons state while seeking international recognition and the lifting of economic sanctions.