North Korea's nuclear weapons programme is "absolutely non-negotiable", the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said in a statement carried by state media on Sunday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, reports AFP.

Pyongyang 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.

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

A key player in the country's communications and foreign policy, Kim Yo Jong's statement came on the eve of Xi's visit to North Korea, scheduled to take place from Monday to Tuesday, according to state media.

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.

Xi's upcoming visit to Pyongyang would be his first in seven years, and comes after he hosted back-to-back summits with US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin last month.

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state since Kim Jong Un's 2019 summit with Trump collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief.

North Korea's leader has since been emboldened by the war in Ukraine, securing critical support from Moscow after sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces.

END/AFP/ASA

At least 34 people, including two babies were killed when a contraband fuel depot exploded into flames in southern Benin near the border with Nigeria on Saturday.

According to Beninese Interior Minister Alassane Seidou, “a serious fire occurred in the town of Seme Podji. Another 20 people were seriously wounded in the incident.”

"I can't really give you the cause of the fire, but there is a large gasoline warehouse here and cars, tricycles and motorcycles come from morning to evening,” he added.

Nigeria is a main oil and gas producer where fuel smuggling is very common along its borders, particularly when the government maintains a subsidy to keep fuel prices low.

The majority of the victims were burnt and they could not be not be identified.

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