North Korean leader Kim Jong-powerful un’s sister has stated that they are prepared to restart negotiations with the South if it ends its “hostile practices.”

Kim Yo-jong was reacting to a fresh request from the South to terminate the Korean War officially.

The battle that split the peninsula in two concluded in an armistice rather than a peace treaty in 1953.

Since since, the two countries have been officially at war and have had a difficult relationship.

Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea, called on the two Koreas and their allies – the United States, which backs the South, and China, which is the North’s largest trading partner – to proclaim a formal end to the hostilities and bring peace to the peninsula this week.

A top North Korean ministry originally criticized the notion as “premature.”

Ms Kim, on the other hand, thought the concept was “admirable” in an unexpected remark issued through official media on Friday.

She did add, though, that the North would only examine the suggestion if the South ceased engaging in “hostile measures” toward them.

“What has to go are the double-dealing attitudes, irrational prejudice, poor habits, and aggressive position of justifying their own actions while criticizing our lawful exercise of the right to self-defense,” she said in a statement.

“Only once such a prerequisite has been satisfied would it be feasible to sit face to face and announce the significant end of the conflict.”

A Deeper Analysis

I recall saying on the day Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in first met that hope may be a tough thing to manage in inter-Korean ties.

For over 5 years, this administration in Seoul had hoped to bring an end to a more than 70-year conflict on the Korean peninsula.

President Moon, on the other hand, is running out of time. In March, his replacement will be chosen.

He took a chance by meeting Kim Jong Un and shaking his hand on Mount Paekdu’s holy peak. However, ties between the two Koreas have deteriorated since then.

North Korea even detonated a bomb in an office designed specifically to host discussions between the two countries. It seems that all hope for peace negotiations had vanished.

But now, in the shape of a declaration from Kim Yo Jong, another glimmer of optimism has broken through.

Take note of all the restrictions and prerequisites. There are several “ifs” and “buts” in that paragraph.

So, is she serious? Kim Yo Jong doesn’t mince his words. She is, however, returning everything to Seoul.

“Talks will only begin if you act in a manner we think worthy,” it may as well say.

Who knows when that will happen.

What This Means Moving Forward

South Korea successfully tested its first submarine-launched ballistic missile earlier this month, just hours after the North conducted its own test.

North Korea has frequently chastised South Korea’s yearly military exercises with the United States.

Since the collapse of denuclearisation discussions between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump in 2019, relations between the two nations have not improved much.

Mr Moon, who has made dialogue with the North a priority throughout his administration, has previously suggested that a declaration of war’s end would push the North to denuclearize.

In exchange, North Korea has demanded that severe economic restrictions be eased first.

However, the United States has frequently stated that any restrictions against North Korea must first be eased before any penalties are lifted.