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The influential sister of North Koreaâs leader said that an inter-Korean summit could take place, but only if mutual ârespectâ and âimpartialityâ are guaranteed.
The statement on Saturday was the second in two days by Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-unâs sister and key adviser.
She had on Friday urged Seoul to end its âhostile policiesâ towards Pyongyang after South Koreaâs president Moon Jae-in called for the declaration of an official end to the state of war with the North.
âPushing the nuclear envelopeâ: North Koreaâs missile diplomacy Read moreThe 1950-53 war between the two Koreas ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving Seoul and Pyongyang technically at war for over half a century.
Analysts say North Korea is using Moonâs desire for inter-Korean engagement to pressure Seoul to persuade the Biden administration to ease crippling US-led sanctions over the Northâs nuclear weapons program or suspend combined US-South Korean military exercises.
An inter-Korean summit between Kim Jong-un and Moon could be held âonly when impartiality and the attitude of respecting each otherâ are guaranteed, Kim Yo-jong said in a statement carried by Pyongyangâs official KCNA news agency.
She also said a summit, as well as discussions on a declaration to end the war, could be held âat an early date through constructive discussionsâ.
âThere is no need for the North and the South to waste time faulting each other and engaging in a war of words,â she added.
She also reiterated Fridayâs call for the South to drop its âunequal double-standardsâ, in an apparent reference to Moonâs criticism of the Northâs recent missile launches.
Last week, the South successfully test-fired successful a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), making it one of a handful of nations with the advanced technology.
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Communications between the North and South have largely been cut in the aftermath of a second US-North Korea summit in Hanoi in February 2019, which collapsed after then-president Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un couldnât settle on the terms of an agreement.
With Associated Press and Agence-France Presse