Kim Jong Un's Sister Shuts the Door on South Korea

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rebuffed an appeasement overture by South Korea's new liberal government, saying Monday that North Korea has no interest in talks with South Korea no matter what proposal its rival offers. Kim Yo Jong's comments suggest again that North Korea, now preoccupied with its expanding cooperation with Russia, has no intentions of returning to diplomacy with South Korea and the US anytime soon, reports the AP. But experts said North Korea could change its course if it thinks it cannot maintain the same booming ties with Russia when the Russia-Ukraine war nears an end. What you need to know:

• The standout quote: "We clarify once again the official stand that no matter what policy is adopted and whatever proposal is made in Seoul, we have no interest in it and there is neither a reason to meet nor an issue to be discussed with" South Korea, Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media.
• The timing: It's North Korea's first official statement on the government of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, which took office in early June. In an effort to improve badly frayed ties with North Korea, Lee's government has halted anti-Pyongyang frontline loudspeaker broadcasts, taken steps to ban activists from flying balloons with propaganda leaflets across the border, and repatriated North Koreans who drifted south in wooden boats months earlier.
• The US angle: Kim Yo Jong called such steps "sincere efforts" by Lee's government to develop ties. But she said the Lee government won't be much different from its predecessors, citing what it calls "their blind trust" in the alliance with the US and attempt to "stand in confrontation" with North Korea. She mentioned August's annual South Korea-US military drills in August, which North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal.
• A brief history: North Korea has been shunning talks with South Korea and the US since leader Kim Jong Un's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Trump fell apart in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions. North Korea has since focused on building more powerful nuclear weapons targeting its rivals. Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has repeatedly boasted of his personal ties with Kim Jong Un and expressed intent to resume diplomacy with him. But North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's overture.