North Korea has firmly rejected recent peace gestures from South Korea’s new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, signaling no interest in dialogue or reconciliation. The message was delivered by Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who said on Monday (Jul 28) that any hopes for improved ties were “a miscalculation.”
In her statement via state media KCNA, Kim criticized President Lee’s support for the South Korea-U.S. alliance, claiming it showed he was no different from his conservative predecessor. “If South Korea expects to reverse all the consequences of its actions with a few sentimental words, there could be no greater miscalculation than that,” she stated.
President Lee, who took office on Jun 4 following a snap election after the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol, had pledged to reduce hostilities and seek dialogue with Pyongyang. Among his early moves were halting anti-North Korea loudspeaker broadcasts at the border and banning the launch of propaganda leaflets by activists — both longstanding irritants for the North.
But Kim Yo Jong dismissed these gestures as simply undoing “ill-intentioned activities” that should never have occurred. “In other words, it’s not even something worth our assessment,” she added.
Reiterating Pyongyang’s firm stance, Kim declared: “Whatever policy is established in Seoul or proposal is made, we are not interested, and we will not be sitting down with South Korea. There is nothing to discuss.”
