Kim Jong-un’s sister has said the only way the Korean War will end is if the US and South Korea and their hostile policies.
Kim Yo-jong said her country is accepting of talks with South Korea if certain conditions are met, such as removing the economic sanctions set by Washington.
Her statement came after North Korea was reporting missile tests, the first in six months, which experts say were part of a plan to boost their arms while the US sanctions were still in place.
She offered the talks while mentioning South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s call, issued in a speech at the UN General Assembly, for a political declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War as a way to bring peace to the peninsula.
(Image: REUTERS)
The statement read: ‘Smiling a forced smile, reading the declaration of the termination of the war, and having photos taken could be essential for somebody, but I think that they would hold no water and would change nothing, given the existing inequality, serious contradiction therefrom and hostilities.”
South Korea are considering the statement from Kim Yo-jong and a ministry statement said that South Korea will continue to restore ties with the North.
A professor at Korea University in the South said North Korea was putting pressure on Seoul to arrange talks easing the sanctions.
“It’s like North Korea saying it would welcome talks on the end-of-the war declaration if lifting the sanctions can also be discussed,” Nam Sung-wook said.
Sanctions imposed by the US have become stricter since the run of nuclear and missile tests in North Korea in 2016 and 2017.
Alongside the coronavirus pandemic, natural disaster and the sanctions, Kim Jong-un said it was the ‘worst-ever’ crisis the country has faced.
The US and North Korea are still at war, technically, because it ended with an armistice rather than one side suing for peace.
Experts say that needing the war and allowing a peace treaty could lead to North Korea demanding the US to withdraw their 28,500 troops in South Korea.
Both North and South Korea called for an end-of-war declaration in 2018 during a brief period of diplomacy with the US.
At the time there were rumours that former President Donald Trump might announce an end to the war in a bid to make Kim Jong Un commit to denuclearisation.
Other experts say, however, that North Korea won’t find any reason to denuclearise once the sanctions are withdrawn.
Last week, North Korea conducted its first cruise and ballistic missile tests since March, demonstrating its ability to launch attacks on South Korea and Japan, two key U.S. allies where a total of 80,000 American soldiers are stationed.
If you like this story, make sure you sign up to one of our totally-free newsletter’s here.