Pyongyang: A potential meeting between North Korea and the United States will only remain a "hope" for Washington if it sticks to its "failed past," the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Tuesday. Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the ruling party's Central Committee, made the remarks as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his willingness to meet with the North's leader.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Yo-jong stated that if the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRK-U.S. meeting will remain as a "hope" of the U.S. side. DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Kim emphasized that recognizing Pyongyang as a nuclear state should be a "prerequisite" going forward, declaring that any attempt to deny such status "will be thoroughly rejected."
The leader's sister did leave room for an improvement in ties between North Korea and Washington, noting that personal ties between their two leaders are "not bad." However, she warned that such a relationship will not flourish if there is a continued push for North Korea's denuclearization. Kim further stated that if the personal relations between the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S. are to serve the purpose of denuclearization, it can be interpreted as nothing but a mockery of the other party.