"Expectations for North Korea-US Dialogue with Trump's Leadership"... Foreign Minister, Need for Tactics in Response to North's Denuclearization Rejection
- Input
- 2025-08-14 11:59:49
- Updated
- 2025-08-14 11:59:49
Kim Yo-jong: "No Interest in Talks Obsessed with the Past"... Not Removing Loudspeakers Against the South
Cho Hyun, who has been coordinating the agenda for the South Korea-U.S. summit, expressed hope during a press conference for domestic reporters on the 14th that a breakthrough in dialogue between North Korea and the United States could be achieved through President Trump's leadership. Minister Cho did not completely deny the question of whether behind-the-scenes negotiations for North Korea-U.S. dialogue were ongoing during the press conference held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul. However, Kim Yo-jong, Vice Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, drew a line by stating in a statement just before Minister Cho's press conference that there would be no meeting with President Trump using past methods, raising the need for a new negotiation approach.
Minister Cho stated that the United States has a significant interest in the North Korean issue. He also mentioned, "Recently, I met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House aides, and it seems that President Trump's leadership is needed to create a new breakthrough related to the Korean Peninsula issue, and I expect it," adding that "the U.S. side was quite favorable."
Minister Cho said, "So far, the United States maintains the position that North Korea cannot possess nuclear weapons," and "therefore, various tactics are needed." North Korea's position is that recognition as a nuclear state must be a precondition for dialogue with the United States, while the United States and South Korea cannot accept this, indicating the need for intense prior consultations. Minister Cho also stated that he could not answer hypothetical situations regarding whether there would be North Korea-U.S. dialogue on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Gyeongju at the end of October. Regarding whether the modernization of the alliance and strategic flexibility of U.S. forces in Korea would be on the agenda of the South Korea-U.S. summit, he said, "We are closely consulting and negotiating at the working level," refraining from detailed answers.
Meanwhile, Vice Director Kim Yo-jong dismissed the speculation that the North Korea-U.S. summit could be resumed that day. She drew a line by saying that the personal friendship between President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un would not be reflected in policy. She further emphasized, "We have no interest in talks obsessed with an irreversible past."
Vice Director Kim's remarks seem to express dissatisfaction with the denuclearization demands of the United States and South Korea and the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises. Vice Director Kim also denied President Lee's mention on the 12th that North Korea was dismantling loudspeakers against the South. She firmly stated, "We have never dismantled the loudspeakers deployed at the border, nor do we intend to dismantle them."
