REUTERS/Jorge Silva/Pool
- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the US has the wrong expectations for talks.
- Kim Yo Jong said this less than a week after her brother told officials to prepare for "dialogue and confrontation."
- President Joe Biden's administration repeatedly tried to contact North Korea in May but was ignored.
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The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has dismissed the likelihood of restarting talks with the United States, warning that it was taking her brother's comments on diplomacy "the wrong way."
Kim Yo Jong, a powerful member of the North Korean ruling party, said in a statement on Tuesday that the US expectation of reigniting dialogue with Pyongyang "would plunge them into greater disappointment," reported Reuters.
"It seems that the US may interpret the situation in such a way as to seek a comfort for itself," she said.
Her comments come just after US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Kim Jong Un had given an "interesting signal" through his reaction to President Joe Biden's pursuit of communications with North Korea.
Less than a week ago, Kim Jong Un had instructed officials to "get prepared for both dialogue and confrontation" with the US, though he emphasized confrontation.
US-North Korea negotiations have long centered on the latter's nuclear arsenal.
Diplomatic relations have been in deadlock since 2019, after former President Donald Trump held three summits with Kim but failed to persuade him to denuclearize.
Reports in May found that Biden's administration had been seeking talks with North Korea for weeks to "reduce the risks of escalation" but received no response.
A confidential UN report seen by Reuters in February said that North Korea continued to develop nuclear and ballistic missile programs last year, violating international sanctions.
G7 leaders called for the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" and praised the US for its diplomatic efforts, after meeting in the United Kingdom earlier this month.