SEOUL — The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Friday her country is willing to resume talks with South Korea if conditions are met, indicating it wants Seoul to persuade Washington to relax crippling economic sanctions.
Kim Yo Jong’s statement came days after North Korea performed its first missile tests in six months, which some experts said were intended to show it would keep boosting its weapons arsenal if the US-led sanctions stayed while nuclear diplomacy remained dormant, according to AP.
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.
She said North Korea is willing to restore “constructive” talks with South Korea to discuss how to improve and repair strained ties if the South stops provoking the North with hostile policies, far-fetched assertions and double-dealing standards.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it’s carefully reviewing Kim Yo Jong’s statement. A ministry statement said South Korea will continue its efforts to restore ties with North Korea.
Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University in South Korea, said North Korea was putting indirect pressure on Seoul to work to arrange talks easing the sanctions as it pushes for the war’s end declaration.
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