Kim Jong Un’s Sister Rejects South Korea’s Efforts to Resume Dialogue
Kim Jong Un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, has ruled out the possibility of dialogue with South Korea, despite its new left-leaning president’s efforts to establish a rapport.
In a statement from North Korea’s state media on Monday, Kim Yo Jong deemed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s initiatives to repair ties with Pyongyang—and including the suspension of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the militarized border—as ill-founded.
Kim, recognized as a key figure in overseeing the ruling Workers’ Party’s propaganda efforts, labeled Lee’s halt of the broadcasts as an unnecessary change of course.
She dismissed the idea that a few conciliatory words could reverse existing policies, calling it a “serious misjudgment,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim also chided Lee’s administration for entertaining aspirational notions after the South Korean unification minister suggested inviting Kim Jong Un to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea later this year.
Kim criticized the Lee government for its unwavering reliance on South Korea’s security ties with the United States and its rhetoric of confrontation, asserting that it closely mirrors the stance of the previous conservative government of Yoon Suk-yeol.
“Regardless of the policy adopted or proposal made in Seoul, we have no interest,” Kim announced firmly, “and there is neither reason to meet nor an issue to discuss with the Republic of Korea (ROK).”
Lee, who recently assumed office following Yoon’s aborted declaration of martial law, has voiced his intent to bolster the relationship with North Korea, a position that has been in the historical wheelhouse of his Democratic Party, which has typically advocated for closer ties compared to conservative predecessors like the People Power Party.
In early July, South Korea repatriated six North Koreans rescued at sea after their boats strayed across the informal inter-Korean maritime boundary.
In a statement from North Korea’s state media on Monday, Kim Yo Jong deemed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s initiatives to repair ties with Pyongyang—and including the suspension of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts along the militarized border—as ill-founded.
Kim, recognized as a key figure in overseeing the ruling Workers’ Party’s propaganda efforts, labeled Lee’s halt of the broadcasts as an unnecessary change of course.
She dismissed the idea that a few conciliatory words could reverse existing policies, calling it a “serious misjudgment,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim also chided Lee’s administration for entertaining aspirational notions after the South Korean unification minister suggested inviting Kim Jong Un to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea later this year.
Kim criticized the Lee government for its unwavering reliance on South Korea’s security ties with the United States and its rhetoric of confrontation, asserting that it closely mirrors the stance of the previous conservative government of Yoon Suk-yeol.
“Regardless of the policy adopted or proposal made in Seoul, we have no interest,” Kim announced firmly, “and there is neither reason to meet nor an issue to discuss with the Republic of Korea (ROK).”
Lee, who recently assumed office following Yoon’s aborted declaration of martial law, has voiced his intent to bolster the relationship with North Korea, a position that has been in the historical wheelhouse of his Democratic Party, which has typically advocated for closer ties compared to conservative predecessors like the People Power Party.
In early July, South Korea repatriated six North Koreans rescued at sea after their boats strayed across the informal inter-Korean maritime boundary.
