Kim Jong Un's Sister: Talks With US Won't Resume

Kim Yo Jong warns of 'disappointment'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 22, 2021 1:35 AM CDT
Kim Jong Un's Sister: Talks With US Won't Resume
In this Feb. 10, 2018, file photo, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, waits for the start of the preliminary round of the women's hockey game between Switzerland and the combined Koreas at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea.   (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed prospects for early resumption of diplomacy with the United States, saying Tuesday the US expectations for talks would “plunge them into a greater disappointment.” Kim Yo Jong issued the statement after US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan described as an “interesting signal” her brother’s recent statement that North Korea must be ready for both dialogue and confrontation, but more for confrontation. “A Korean proverb says that ‘In a dream, what counts most is to read it, not to have it.’ It seems that the US may interpret the situation in such a way as to seek a comfort for itself,” Kim Yo Jong said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. “The expectation, which they chose to harbor the wrong way, would plunge them into a greater disappointment,” she said.

Her statement came as the top US envoy on North Korea affairs, Sung Kim, is visiting South Korea, the AP reports. Earlier Tuesday, Sung Kim said during a meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young that Washington and Seoul agreed on the commitment to pursue complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy. Lee said he hopes North Korea would return to talks at an early date. Sung Kim said Monday he hoped to see a positive reaction from the North soon on US offers for talks though he said US-led sanctions on North Korea will stay in place. In recent months, the North Korean leader has threatened to bolster his nuclear deterrent and claimed that the fate of diplomacy and bilateral relations depends on whether Washington abandons what he calls hostile policies, in an apparent reference to the sanctions and regular US military drills with South Korea.

(More Kim Yo Jong stories.)

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