North Korea says inter-Korean summit possible with ‘respect’, the South "welcomed" the statement

North Korea is willing to consider another summit with South Korea if mutual respect between neighbors can be ensured, state news agency KCNA said on Saturday, citing Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

South Korea welcomed the prospect on Sunday, as the Unification Ministry said it hopes to quickly engage in talks with Pyongyang, while urging the need to reestablish a hotline link between the two countries.

“For these discussions, the inter-Korean communication line must first be quickly reestablished, as smooth and stable communication is important,” the Seoul Unification Ministry said in a statement.

The hotline, maintained by the South Korean military to handle relations with Pyongyang, has not been operational since August, as North Korea stopped answering calls.

Kim’s statement is the second in two days. North Korea had urged Seoul on Friday to end its “hostile policies” towards Pyongyang after South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in called for declaring an official end to the state of war with the North.

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the United States-led forces technically still at war with North Korea.

Pyongyang for decades has sought an end to the war but the US refused to agree unless North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons.

“I think that only when impartiality and the attitude of respecting each other are maintained, can there be smooth understanding between the north and the south,” Kim Yo Jong was quoted as saying by the state news agency KCNA.
She also said a summit, as well as discussions on a declaration to end the war, could be held “at an early date through constructive discussions”.

Constructive discussions offer an opportunity for solutions on issues such as “the reestablishment of the joint north-south liaison office and the north-south summit, not to mention the timely declaration of the significant end of the war,” Kim said.

In comments on Saturday, Kim said he noted with interest the intense discussion in the South over the renewed prospect of a formal statement.

“I felt that the atmosphere of the South Korean public who want to regain inter-Korean relations from a standstill and achieve peaceful stability as soon as possible is irresistibly strong,” he said. “We too have the same desire.”

Talks with the United States have started since 2019, when expectations rose for an end-of-war declaration, albeit not an actual treaty; ahead of a historic summit by former US President Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un in Singapore.

However that possibility, and the momentum the leaders generated in three meetings, came to nothing.

In his speech to the UN, current US President Joe Biden said he wanted “sustained diplomacy” to resolve the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea has rejected US proposals on dialogue and the head of the UN atomic watchdog said this week that its nuclear program was going “on full blast.”