Kim Jong Un’s sister dismisses U.S. intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea denuclearization

Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, addresses her brother’s relationship with U.S. President Trump, saying it’s ‘not bad.’

SEOUL, South Korea - The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dismissed U.S. intent to resume diplomacy on North Korea’s denuclearization, saying Tuesday the North flatly opposes any attempt to deny its position as a nuclear weapons state.

Since beginning his second term in January, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly bragged of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed hopes of restarting nuclear diplomacy between them. Their high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018-19 unraveled due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. Kim has since performed a provocative run of weapons tests to modernize and expand his nuclear arsenal.

In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said that “It is worth taking into account the fact that the year 2025 is neither 2018 nor 2019.”

“Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state which was established along with the existence of a powerful nuclear deterrent and fixed by the supreme law reflecting the unanimous will of all the DPRK people will be thoroughly rejected,” she said, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

She said she was responding to reported comments by a U.S. official that Trump is still open to talks with Kim Jong Un on the North’s complete denuclearization. She likely was referring to a Saturday article by Yonhap news agency that cited an unidentified White House official as saying that Trump “remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully denuclearized North Korea.”

Kim Yo Jong said she doesn’t deny the personal relationship between her brother and Trump “is not bad.” But she said if their personal relations are to serve the purpose of North Korea’s denuclearization, North Korea would view it as “nothing but a mockery.”

“If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK- U.S. meeting will remain as a `hope’ of the U.S. side,” Kim Yo Jong said.

Her comments suggested complete denuclearization won’t be up for negotiation. Experts earlier said North Korea would only be interested in talks on a partial surrender of its nuclear capability in return for sanctions relief and other benefits, a tactic that could allow North Korea to retain some of its key nuclear weapons after winning what it wants from the U.S.

The earlier Trump-Kim diplomacy collapsed after Trump rejected Kim’s calls for extensive sanctions relief in return for dismantling his main nuclear complex, a limited denuclearization step.

On Monday, Kim Yo Jong rebuffed overtures by South Korea’s new liberal government, saying its “blind trust” in the country’s alliance with the U.S. and hostility toward North Korea make it no different from its conservative predecessor.

Her comments imply that North Korea - now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia - sees no need to resume diplomacy with South Korea anytime soon. Experts say Kim Yo Jong also likely seeks to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington.

By Hyung-jin Kim.