North Korea leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister says there won't be talks with Seoul
Seoul
The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday said Pyongyang would not hold talks with the government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, according to a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.
Kim Yo Jong, a senior official in the ruling Worker's Party's central committee, said Pyongyang had no interest in engaging with the government of Lee, who took office last month vowing to ease tensions and restart inter-Korean dialogue.
'We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither the reason to meet nor the issue to be discussed with the ROK,' Kim Yo Jong said.
Relations between North and South Korea 'have irreversibly gone beyond the time zone of the concept of homogeneous,' Kim Yo Jong added.
The comments are North Korea's first official response to the new South Korean government, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Since taking office, Lee has taken several steps aimed at easing tensions with North Korea, including dismantling loudspeakers broadcasting propaganda across the border, marking a shift from his predecessor's hard-line stance.
Kim Yo Jong, however, criticized Lee's close alignment with the United States, saying authorities in Seoul's 'blind trust' in Washington 'and their attempt to stand in confrontation' with North Korea 'are little short of their predecessor's.'
His powerful sister also dismissed a proposal to invite Kim Jong Un to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in October as a 'daydream.'
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