US set for ‘disappointment’ as it seeks North Korea talks’ restart, Kim Jong-un’s sister says

Kim Yo-jong made the remarks in response to the US national security adviser’s recent comment that ‘interesting signals’ were coming from Pyongyang
Observers said her statement implied that Washington needed to come up with ‘more concrete and palatable offers’ before North Korea will return to dialogue

North Korea

Associated PressandPark Chan-kyongin Seoul

Published: 1:21pm, 22 Jun 2021

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Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister has dismissed prospects of North Korea returning to dialogue without preconditions, saying that US expectations for the early resumption of talks would “plunge them into a greater disappointment”.

Kim Yo-jong made the comments on Tuesday, after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had described her brother’s recent statement that North Korea will be ready for both dialogue and confrontation – but more for confrontation – as “interesting signals”.

“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,” she said, according to Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency. “The expectation, which they chose to harbour the wrong way, would plunge them into a greater disappointment.”

US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim, left, shakes hands with South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young during a meeting on Tuesday. Photo: pool via AP

Her statement came as the top US envoy on North Korea affairs, Sung Kim, is visiting South Korea. Sung Kim said on Monday he hoped to see a positive reaction from the North soon on US offers for talks, adding Washington had offered to meet “anywhere, anytime without preconditions”.

Professor Kim Yong-hyun, of South Korea’s Dongguk University, said Kim Yo-jong’s statement implied Washington should offer to appease Pyongyang, as the North is still bitter about the collapse of talks with the former Trump administration.

“What she is saying through this statement is this: we want the US to open the bundle first and show us what it can give us as gifts,” he said. “The North thinks the ball is now in the US court while the US thinks it’s the other way around.”

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said Kim Yo-jong was reproaching Sullivan for what she viewed as a slight against her brother.

“This statement does not mean that the North is rejecting dialogue. On the contrary, it is calling on Washington to come up with more concrete and palatable offers to give the North enough reasons to come back to dialogue”, Yang said.

China and North Korea show united front as US offers talks

During a major ruling party meeting last week, Kim Jong-un analysed the Biden administration’s North Korea policy and ordered officials to prepare for both dialogue and confrontation, “especially to get fully prepared for confrontation”, to protect national security and dignity, according to state media.

But the North Korean leader’s publicised comments did not include any harsh rhetoric against Washington and Seoul, an omission that prompted conflicting analyses among outside experts. Some said he was hinting that he planned to apply more pressure on the US to ease its policy on the North, while others argued he was emphasising the possible resumption of talks.

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.

02:00

Who is North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong?

US officials have suggested President Joe Biden would take the middle ground between Trump’s direct dealings with Kim and former President Barack Obama’s policy of “strategic patience”. But some experts say the Biden administration would not ease any sanctions before the North takes concrete steps toward denuclearisation.

US-led diplomacy aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear programme has stalled since February 2019, when the Americans rejected the North Koreans’ demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities during a summit between Kim and then-President Donald Trump.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: U.S. set for disappointment on talks, Kim’s sister warns

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