Hopes of resuming diplomatic talks between the United States and North Korea took a fresh hit after Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, dismissed the idea of future dialogue unless Washington acknowledges the “changed reality” and North Korea’s status as a nuclear power.

As per the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), on Tuesday, Kim Yo-jong said that any meeting between the two nations would remain a distant “hope” if the United States continues to hold on to its “failed past” approach.

“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,” Kim said, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

‘NOT BAD’ TIES, BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Despite the harsh tone, Kim Yo-jong said that personal relations between her brother and US President Donald Trump were “not bad.” Trump himself has frequently referred to his rapport with Kim Jong-un in positive terms, once calling it a “great relationship.”

But Kim made it clear that a friendly connection between leaders does not equate to meaningful policy change.

“If the personal relations between the top leaders of the DPRK and the US are to serve the purpose of denuclearisation, it can be interpreted as nothing but a mockery of the other party,” she warned.

DPRK is the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

NORTH KOREA WILL NOT BACK DOWN ON NUKES

In what was arguably the most pointed part of her statement, Kim repeated that the North will not give up its nuclear weapons. She urged the US to accept that North Korea’s nuclear capabilities are now a part of the global landscape.

“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state … will be thoroughly rejected,” she said, drawing a red line that Pyongyang seems unwilling to cross.

While Donald Trump is “receptive” to dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House has said, after a South Korea-based news site reported that Pyongyang repeatedly rebuffed Trump’s outreach efforts.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump would like to build on the “progress” made during his 2018 summit with Kim.

– Ends

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