Powerful North Korean official Kim Yo Jong claimed Thursday that her nation was not even considering meeting with the U.S. face to face on any issues.
Yo Jong released a harsh statement in reaction to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who joined representatives of many other nations in condemning North Korea’s recent launch of a military spy satellite.
“I deplore the fact that the UNSC, at which the purpose and principle of the UN Charter have to be strictly respected, is being turned into a land of lawlessness where the sovereignty of independent states is wantonly violated, extreme double standards are imprudently applied and injustice and high-handed practices are rampant due to the U.S. and some forces following it, and strongly denounce and reject it,” Yo Jong said.
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She continued, “The whole course of the open meeting of the UNSC over the DPRK’s reconnaissance satellite launch, convened at the gangster-like demand of the U.S. and its followers, clearly proves how weak, false and absurd are the unreasonable arguments of some UN member states denying the DPRK’s sovereign rights.”
Kim Yo Jong, sister of leader Kim Jong Un, is believed to be one of the most powerful diplomats in North Korea.
Her statement was released by the Korean Central News Agency, a state-run media outlet.
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Thomas-Greenfield expressed at the UNSC meeting that she would like to see communications between the two nations re-established, even in a limited capacity.
The ambassador said North Korea could “choose the time and the topic.” for discussions with U.S. leadership, Thomas-Greenfield said.
However, Yo Jong pushed back on the U.S.’s invitation, declaring that the Kim regime had no interest in an in-person meeting.
“The sovereignty of an independent state can never be an agenda item for negotiations, and therefore, the DPRK will never sit face to face with the U.S. for that purpose,” Yo Jong said in the KCNA statement.
Yo Jong’s comments are an unambiguous ramification of the Biden administration’s deteriorating relationship with the hermetic nation.
Former President Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to set foot in the Demilitarized Zone with Kim Jong Un. The in-person meeting was considered a breakthrough in global politics, but the international relationship soured after Trump’s loss in 2020.