By 주식회사문화방송,
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, has once again dismissed peace proposals from South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, declaring that Pyongyang will never regard Seoul as a viable diplomatic partner. The remarks, published by North Korea’s state media outlet KCNA on Wednesday, come as South Korea and the United States continue their joint military exercises, aimed at bolstering deterrence against North Korea’s expanding nuclear arsenal.
Kim Yo Jong, a senior foreign policy aide to her brother, condemned the ongoing drills—an annual military routine—as a “reckless” rehearsal for invasion. She accused President Lee of having a “dual personality,” saying he speaks of peace while simultaneously preparing for war. Her comments were made during a Tuesday meeting with senior officials at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, where they reviewed diplomatic strategies amid what KCNA described as persistent external threats and a volatile geopolitical environment.
“The Republic of Korea [ROK], which is not serious, weighty, or honest, will not have even a subordinate role in the regional diplomatic arena centred on the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea],” Kim said, using the formal titles for both Koreas. “The ROK cannot be a diplomatic partner of the DPRK,” she added.
Her remarks followed President Lee’s renewed outreach to Pyongyang. Last week, he proposed the revival of a 2018 inter-Korean military agreement aimed at reducing tensions along the border and called on North Korea to rebuild trust and return to dialogue. Since assuming office in June, Lee has sought to reverse the deteriorating inter-Korean ties that intensified under his conservative predecessor. His administration has taken steps like dismantling border loudspeakers used for broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda and K-pop music.
In a nationally televised speech on Friday, President Lee stated that South Korea respects North Korea’s existing political system and reiterated that Seoul “will not pursue any form of unification by absorption and has no intention of engaging in hostile acts.” Nonetheless, he reaffirmed South Korea’s commitment to global efforts to denuclearise North Korea and urged Pyongyang to resume stalled talks with both Seoul and Washington.
Kim Yo Jong, who has previously characterised Lee’s peace efforts as a “miscalculation,” described his most recent proposals as “a fancy and a pipe dream.”
“We have witnessed and experienced the dirty political system of the ROK for decades… and now we are sick and tired of it,” she said, insisting that South Korea’s “ambition for confrontation” has remained unchanged under both conservative and liberal administrations.
“Lee Jae-myung is not that man to change this flow of history,” she continued, adding that the South Korean government’s calls for peace and improved ties are merely “rambling pretence” designed to shift the blame onto North Korea for the stalled state of inter-Korean relations.
Kim Yo Jong’s statements came shortly after similar remarks from her brother, Kim Jong Un, who on Tuesday denounced the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises as “an obvious expression of their will to provoke war,” according to KCNA.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield drills, which began on Monday, involve 11 days of military activities, including command post simulations and field training. Approximately 21,000 troops are participating—18,000 from South Korea and 3,000 from the U.S. While Seoul and Washington maintain that the exercises are purely defensive, Pyongyang views them as direct threats.
In response, Kim Jong Un has vowed a rapid expansion of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. He recently inspected the country’s most advanced warship, which is being equipped with nuclear-capable systems, further intensifying regional security concerns.
Last year, Kim officially declared an end to North Korea’s decades-old goal of peaceful reunification with the South and amended the national constitution to designate Seoul as a permanent enemy. His government continues to reject all calls for renewed diplomatic engagement, despite repeated invitations from the U.S. and South Korea to resume denuclearisation talks—talks that collapsed in 2019 following a failed summit with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a notable shift in foreign policy, Kim Jong Un has also deepened ties with Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. North Korea has reportedly provided weapons and troops to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war efforts, using the global conflict as a cover to speed up the development of its own nuclear weapons programme.
The current tensions mark a new low in inter-Korean relations and suggest that efforts by the Lee administration to rekindle diplomacy face overwhelming resistance from a North Korean leadership increasingly aligned with military aggression and global authoritarian alliances.
