North Korea has made its position clear recently, responding to U.S.-South Korean proposals. The remarks by Kim Yo-jong, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, have cooled down the U.S. and South Korean plans.
She rejected South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's proposal for improving relations, calling it unrealistic; at the same time, she told the United States that North Korea will not give up its nuclear weapons, emphasizing that the stage of inter-Korean negotiations has ended, and North Korea will adhere to "nuclear-armed self-reliance."
Since Yoon Suk-yeol took office, South Korea has shown a tendency to ease its stance toward North Korea. As the host of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders' Informal Meeting, it even considered inviting North Korea to participate in order to promote improved relations. However, on July 28, Kim Yo-jong stated that South Korea would not become an object of reconciliation and cooperation for North Korea. In the past, South Korea unilaterally viewed North Korea as an "enemy" and incited confrontation, leading to tense situations on the Korean Peninsula. This situation will not change with a few kind words.
Trump and his team have repeatedly expressed willingness to participate in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, mentioning their 2018 meeting with Kim Jong-un to demonstrate a gesture of dialogue. In response, on the same day, Kim Yo-jong wrote an article titled "North-South Contact is Just America's 'Hopes'", stating that North Korea does not recognize the unilateral evaluation of past North American dialogues by the United States, emphasizing that North Korea is now an irreversible nuclear state, and the United States must acknowledge this reality, otherwise, North American meetings would just be the United States' one-sided wish.
For North Korea, nuclear weapons are an important support for its independence and international voice. It is difficult for the United States to achieve the goal of getting North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons through contact. However, North Korea is open to engaging with the United States, provided that its sovereignty and national interests are guaranteed. It advocates that future negotiations focus on "how to coexist." But the United States still hopes to achieve denuclearization through dialogue, and there is a significant difference between the two sides at the starting point of negotiations, let alone leaders' meetings.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1839258525221066/
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