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North Korea leaves room for dialogue as it demands halt to drills
A statement attributed to Kim Yo-jong rejected Trump-linked claims about US-South Korea exercises while signaling Pyongyang would set terms for any renewed summit diplomacy.
The South China Morning Post reports North Korea is leaving open a path for renewed dialogue with the United States after a message from Kim Yo-jong that, at first glance, appeared to rebuff Donald Trump’s plan to meet Kim Jong-un later this year.
According to SCMP Economy, Kim Yo-jong dismissed Trump’s view that he could treat his demand to scale back joint US-South Korea military exercises as meaningless, while calling for a complete halt to the drills and warning against what Pyongyang calls Washington’s hostile policy.
The report says the statement also included openings calibrated for Trump. Kim Yo-jong did not confirm or deny Trump’s claim that Kim Jong-un had responded positively, saying she was only “perhaps” informed about the matter, and she stressed that Kim Jong-un holds “personally good memories and feelings” toward Trump.
Analysts cited by SCMP Economy said the wording stopped short of shutting down Trump’s outreach, with Kim Yo-jong appearing to keep summit diplomacy possible while indicating Pyongyang intended to set the terms for a return to dialogue.