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The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed prospects of an early resumption of diplomacy with the United States, saying on Tuesday that the United States’ expectations from the talks would “plop them into even greater disappointment.”
Some experts said Kim Yo Jong’s egregious statement indicates that the diplomatic impasse over North Korea’s nuclear program is likely to continue unless North Korea suffers economic and pandemic-related difficulties.
Hopes for a resumption of nuclear talks briefly flared after Kim Jong Un said last week that his country should be ready for dialogue and confrontation, albeit more confrontation. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called Kim’s comments an “interesting signal.”
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Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, waits for the start of the preliminary round of the women’s hockey match between Switzerland and the two Koreas at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea on February 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
On Tuesday, Kim Yoo Jung mocked Sullivan’s response.
“It seems that the United States may interpret the situation in a way that seeks its own comfort,” the official Korean Central News Agency quoted her as saying. “An expectation that they chose the wrong way, will plunge them into even greater disappointment.”
North Korea has been conveying the same message for months — that it has no intention of returning to talks unless the United States makes meaningful concessions, most likely in the form of easing economic sanctions, said Shin Byom-chul, an analyst at the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. . For its part, he said, the Biden administration does not want to budge.
“Both sides are stuck in a waiting game – North Korea wants the US to make concessions first, and the US has no intentions of matching the level of action North Korea is demanding,” Shin said.
On Monday, during a visit to Seoul, Sung Kim, the top US envoy for North Korea affairs, said Washington was ready to meet with North Korea “anywhere and at any time without preconditions.” But he stressed that the Biden administration would continue to pressure North Korea with imposing sanctions over its nuclear and missile ambitions.
Prior to the release of Kim Yo Jong’s statement on Tuesday, Song Kim met with South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young and said that Washington and Seoul remain committed to pursuing the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy. Lee said he hoped North Korea would return to the negotiating table at an early date, describing the current situation as a “very good opportunity” to resume talks.
As a precondition for the resumption of talks, North Korea has repeatedly called on the United States to lift its “hostile policy” toward it, an apparent reference to US-led sanctions and regular military exercises with South Korea. But experts say the Biden administration will not ease sanctions or make other major concessions until North Korea takes concrete steps toward denuclearization.
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Some experts have said that North Korea may only soften its stance if it can no longer withstand its continuing economic hardship. Kim Jong-un has admitted that North Korea is facing what he called its “worst crisis ever”, due to a dramatic drop in international trade due to pandemic-related border closures, mismanagement, economic sanctions and crop-killing storms last year.
Shen said the impasse “could be prolonged unless there is a change in the conditions facing the North, such as greater economic difficulties or hardships related to the epidemic.”
Analyst Cheong Seong Chang at the Sejong Private Institute in South Korea said Kim Yo Jong’s statement indicates that North Korea is not ready to join the talks anytime soon.
“Mutual distrust and hostility are so deep that resuming talks between North Korea and the United States is difficult. Even if the United States and North Korea meet, it will never be easy to find common ground,” Cheung said.
Last Thursday, Kim Jong Un ordered officials to prepare for dialogue and confrontation, “especially to be fully prepared for confrontation” in order to protect national security and dignity.
In an interview with ABC News, Sullivan said Sunday that “his comments this week we take as an interesting signal. We will wait to see if they are followed up with any kind of direct communication with us about a possible path forward.”
US officials have indicated that Biden will make a middle ground between former President Donald Trump’s direct dealings with Kim and former President Barack Obama’s policy of “strategic patience.” Details of Biden’s North Korea policy have not been made public.
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US-led diplomacy aimed at stripping North Korea of its nuclear program has been bogged down since February 2019, when the Americans rejected North Korea’s demand for significant sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities during a summit between Kim and Trump.
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