The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed prospects for an early resumption of diplomacy with the United States, saying on Tuesday that US expectations of talks would “plunge them into a greater disappointment.”
Kim Yo Jong’s blunt statement indicates that the diplomatic impasse over North Korea’s nuclear program is likely to continue unless the North suffers greater economic and pandemic-related difficulties, some experts said.
Hope for a restart of nuclear talks flared briefly after Kim Jong Un said last week that his country must be ready for both dialogue and confrontation, though more for confrontation. US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan called Kim’s comments an “interesting signal.”
On Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong derided Sullivan’s response.
“It seems that the US may interpret the situation in such a way as to seek a comfort for itself,” the official Korean Central News Agency quoted her as saying.