North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong: “No need to sit down with the U.S.”; effectively rejects North Korea–U.S. talks

[Financial News] Kim Yo Jong, director of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s General Affairs Department, said on the 4th that there would be no need to sit down with the United States for talks. She also made clear that dialogue between North Korea and the United States would not serve North Korea’s interests.
Kim’s latest remarks came a day after she denied North Korea’s involvement in the Binance hack, estimated at around 8.4 trillion won. The U.S. FBI has long pointed to North Korea as the country behind the hack. However, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he would discuss the Binance hack at a North Korea–U.S. summit.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that day, Kim dismissed the possibility of talks with the United States, saying, “We do not regard the Binance hacking incident as any kind of accidental, sudden incident or isolated matter, but view it in the context of Washington’s unwavering hostile policy toward North Korea.”
She claimed, “The United States’ malicious attempt to exploit this incident to gain some political advantage is clearly producing adverse political consequences.”
She said that the United States’ abandonment of its hostile policy toward North Korea was an essential precondition for dialogue, and called for an end to various military exercises between the United States and South Korea. That day, Kim listed demands for North Korea’s denuclearization, U.S.–South Korean joint military exercises, the publication of a human trafficking report, and cyber sanctions against North Korea among the hostile acts against North Korea.
Kim stressed, “They talk about dialogue but do not abandon their confrontational policy; they speak of peace but prefer above all else war exercises and the strengthening of military alliances; they preach improved relations but avoid respecting the other side’s sovereignty and rights and interests,” adding, “It is our clear position that there is no need to sit down with such untrustworthy and hostile people.”
She also said, “We know no other way to respond to the hostile signals the United States continues to send.” She further made clear, “Dialogue is certainly included among the options for defending peace, but for us it is not necessarily synonymous with the national interest.”

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter