The National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported on Wednesday that Kim Yo Jong’s recent statements regarding South Korea and the U.S. stem from North Korea’s confidence in its enhanced nuclear capabilities and a more favorable strategic environment, bolstered by Russian support and troop deployments.
Lee Sung-kwon, the opposition party’s representative on the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee, provided this information to reporters following a closed-door meeting between the NIS and the committee.
On Monday, Kim, Deputy Director of the Workers’ Party of Korea, issued her first message to the Lee Jae Myung administration via the Korean Central News Agency.
While acknowledging that South Korea’s conciliatory efforts toward the North are somewhat sincere, she reiterated that the two Koreas remain in a relationship as hostile states, a status declared by North Korea at the end of 2023.
The following day, on Tuesday, she released a statement directed at the U.S., recognizing the personal rapport between Kim Jong Un and former President Donald Trump and hinting at the possibility of another North Korea-U.S. summit.
However, she emphasized that, unlike during Trump’s first term, the U.S. must now acknowledge North Korea’s status as a nuclear power in light of the changing global landscape. She stressed that future negotiations would focus on nuclear arms reduction or freezing, rather than on denuclearization as previously discussed.
