Kim’s Sister: No Summit But North Korea Is No Threat to US

Says 'a surprise thing may still happen'

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong made comments through the nation’s state-run news agency KCNA, saying that a new Trump-Kim summit is unlikely this year, but seemed to leave open hope, saying that “a surprise thing may still happen.”

Saying a summit is unlikely in 2020 is hardly a shock, but Kim’s more important comment came later, saying that North Korea has no intention of threatening the United States. She added as long as the US “don’t touch us and hurt us, everything will flow as is.”

That is important, because it gives both sides time to negotiate at a low level to try to get the stalled peace process started again. With no imminent threats, neither side has to make a desperate attempt to get back to the table sooner, rather than later.

Kim Yo Jong has been increasingly assertive in North Korean policy in recent months, announcing an offensive on the Korean DMZ after South Koreans flew propaganda balloons across the border. It was only Kim Jong Un who ultimately stepped in and reversed that decision.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.