North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rejects US attempts at dialogue. As reported by the local newspaper Rodong Sinmun, the supreme head of the People’s Republic called the offers for an institutional meeting made by the Biden administration in recent months “a facade operation”: “Since the new US administration took office, the threat of the American military and the hostile line towards us have not changed at all but have become more cunning ”, during a supreme assembly of the people.
The talks between Pyongyang and Washington have not recorded any significant developments since the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and then President Donald Trump on reducing sanctions and what the North would be willing to give up in return.
An initial response from the US government to Kim’s accusations comes from the State Department spokesperson: «The United States does not harbor hostile intentions towards the Democratic Party. Our policy requires a practical and calibrated approach that seeks serious and sustained diplomacy with the RPD to make tangible progress that increases the security of the United States, our allies and our deployed forces ”.
Washington added that it hoped for a positive response soon, adding that the government supports “inter-Korean cooperation” to help stability in the peninsula. Until now, however, Kim has always rejected US openings.
Today’s UN summit
The speech by the plenipotentiary president of North Korea comes after the UN Security Council called a meeting to discuss the launch of the hypersonic missile from the military bases of Pyongyang. According to AFP reports, the summit, scheduled for today, would have been urgently requested by the United States, France and the United Kingdom. The meeting behind closed doors should lead to a joint statement from the council. The missile tests that have already led to many rounds of sanctions against Kim’s government have in fact continued in recent months. Before the last episode, in fact, the Korean army had completed the launch of a long-range missile that had worried the international community, starting with neighboring South Korea.
The renewal of relations with Seoul
Regarding relations with peninsular neighbors, Kim announced to Parliament that communications, which had been interrupted since August, will be resumed in early October in an attempt to improve cross-border relations. The leader expressed his “commitment” to improve telematic communication: “The inter-Korean relations, currently tense, are restored as soon as possible and a solid peace is established on the Korean peninsula”
The leader, however, did not spare his neighbors from recriminations, and urged Seoul to change its “attitude” towards the regime. Kim then accused South Korea of being “inclined to beg for external support and cooperation and clamoring for international cooperation in the service of the United States“, rather than pledging to resolve issues independently between the two Koreas. The North Korean leader also repeated his sister Kim Yo Jong’s appeals in Seoul to abandon the “duplicity” attitude and the “hostile point of view” on Northern missile tests and other issues, stating that the future of inter-Korean ties appears critic.
Internal news: Sister Si Kim to State Affairs
On the domestic side, the election of Kim Yo Jong, sister of the leader, as a member of the State Affairs Commission led by his brother, during the session of the Supreme People’s Assembly made headlines. The appointment of the 34-year-old, already a high-level member of the party and one in charge of managing Pyongyang’s relations with Seoul, is a new sign that the North Korean leader is trying to strengthen the family’s grip on power, in the face of difficulties. in progress.