Kim Yo Jong ridicules Washington’s proposal for dialogue

Kim Yo Jong, the Deputy Director of the Publicity and Information Department under the Workers’ Party of Korea, said on Tuesday that the U.S. has “wrong” expectations, responding to White House Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who said the previous day that he saw an “interesting signal” in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent speech on preparing for dialogue with the U.S. The influential sister of Kim Jong Un, who is in charge of diplomacy with South Korea and the U.S., dismissed the U.S. demands that North Korea accept unconditional meeting with the U.S. More tug-of-war is expected between the U.S. and North Korea over conditions to resume nuclear talks as there is a low possibility of North Korea’s likelihood for engaging in talks immediately, contrary to the expectations of South Korea and the U.S.

In a five-line statement released by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim said she heard reports that the White House Security Adviser called Kim Jong Un’s recent speech about the needs to prepare for both dialogue and confrontation with the U.S. an “interesting signal.” “A Korean proverb says that ‘In a dream, what counts most is to read it, not to have it,” Kim said. “It seems that the U.S. may interpret the situation in such a way that it seeks comfort for itself. The expectation, which they chose to harbor the wrong way, would plunge them into further disappointment,” Kim lashed out at White House Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s interview with ABC News held on Sunday (local time). A Cheong Wa Dae official said it is not afford to make a statement on the issue and does not think it will. The Ministry of Unification declined to comment on the issue, saying the South Korean government is not in a position to comment on the matter as it is North Korea’s response to a comment made by a U.S. high-ranking official.

Prior to the release of Kim Yo Jong’s statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced an end to South Korea-U.S. “working group” forum, 31 months after its establishment in November 2018. In June of last year, Kim Yo Jong criticized the forum as the “noose of the pro-U.S. flunkeyism.” The “working group” forum is a consultative body between South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department aimed at seeking a coordinated strategy for inter-Korean cooperative business projects so that they do not violate sanctions against North Korea.


Ji-Sun Choi aurinko@donga.com