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North Korea Shuts Down Seoul’s Latest Outreach: ‘No Reason to Talk’

North Korea Shuts Down Seoul’s Latest Outreach: ‘No Reason to Talk’
Source: KCNA via KNS/AFP

North Korea has flatly rejected South Korea’s latest attempts at diplomatic outreach, with Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying that Pyongyang has no interest in talks “no matter the policy or proposal.”

In a statement released by North Korea’s state-run media on Monday, Kim Yo Jong dismissed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s recent goodwill gestures, including the halting of propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the heavily militarized border.

Labeling the move as a “reversible turning back of what they should not have done in the first place,” Kim mocked Seoul’s approach as naïve and out of touch.

“If South Korea expected that it could reverse all the results it had made with a few sentimental words,” she said, “nothing could be a more serious miscalculation.”

She also slammed the Lee administration’s openness to the idea of Kim Jong Un attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea this October, calling it a “daydream.”

Kim’s statement made it clear that North Korea sees little distinction between the current left-leaning administration and its conservative predecessor. Despite President Lee’s efforts to chart a different course since taking office last month — following the ousting of former President Yoon Suk-yeol — Pyongyang says it sees “no issue to discuss” and no “reason to meet.”

Lee’s Democratic Party has long championed a more conciliatory approach to North Korea, unlike Yoon’s more hawkish People Power Party. But Kim Yo Jong rejected the idea that a change in tone from Seoul will make any difference, citing South Korea’s continued reliance on its military alliance with the United States.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high. Earlier this month, Seoul repatriated six North Koreans whose boats had drifted across the maritime border — a move intended to demonstrate goodwill but which clearly did little to soften Pyongyang’s position.

With input from Al Jazeera

Michelle Larsen

Michelle Larsen is a 23-year-old journalist and editor for Wyoming Star. Michelle has covered a variety of topics on both local (crime, politics, environment, sports in the USA) and global issues (USA around the globe; Middle East tensions, European security and politics, Ukraine war, conflicts in Africa, etc.), shaping the narrative and ensuring the quality of published content on Wyoming Star, providing the readership with essential information to shape their opinion on what is happening. Michelle has also interviewed political experts on the matters unfolding on the US political landscape and those around the world to provide the readership with better understanding of these complex processes.