North Korea Suggests US Avoid ‘Causing a Stink’ If It Wants Peace

White House says no official response to initial overtures

The White House has confirmed making overtures to North Korea to engage in new peace talks, and says it has no response so far. No response does not mean North Korea has gone silent, however.

Referencing recent military drills in South Korea, Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong suggested that if the US wants peace, they should avoid “causing a stink at its first step.” Though she is not an official spokesman, her statement was published in North Korean state media, and can be treated as official.

The US engaged in its most successful talks ever with North Korea during the Trump Administration, but those talks stalled and ultimately fell apart on US refusal to produce aid relief of any sort.

It’s not clear where Biden stands on this, but he did apparently see it as worth sending an overture to North Korea for possible new talks. If they are serious, however, timing it with the South Korea drills was clearly a bad move, as North Korea has consistently seen such operations as a prelude to war.

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.