Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a strong statement urging the United States to acknowledge North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state, emphasizing that dialogue will not result in denuclearization.
In a statement released by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, Kim asserted that recognition of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and the altered geopolitical landscape should be fundamental to future diplomatic relations.
According to Kim, any attempts to undermine North Korea’s status as a nuclear power, which she claimed was established by the nation’s supreme law reflecting the collective will of its people, would be entirely rejected.
“The DPRK is open to any option in defending its present national position,” she stated, referencing North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Kim Yo Jong, who is responsible for the propaganda strategies of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, cautioned that ongoing confrontation between the US and North Korea would not benefit either party. She encouraged Washington to explore new avenues of engagement based on current realities.
Despite acknowledging that the relationship between her brother and President Donald Trump was “not bad,” Kim made it clear that any use of their personal rapport to push for denuclearization would be viewed as insincere.
“If the US fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-US meeting will remain as a ‘hope’ of the US side,” she warned.
Kim’s remarks follow a recent report from South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency indicating that a White House official mentioned President Trump’s willingness to engage with Kim Jong Un to pursue a “fully denuclearized” North Korea.
Her comments came just one day after she dismissed the South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s overtures to improve relations with Pyongyang, which included an offer to halt propaganda broadcasts at the border.
Since President Trump returned to the White House in January, he has expressed continued interest in resuming dialogue with North Korea. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated last month that Trump aims to build upon the
image source from：aljazeera
