North Korea snubs Trump's proposed opening to Kim Jong-un

The announcement was made this Wednesday (19) by the dictator's influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, in a statement. Since February, she has held a position equivalent to minister in the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, which has governed the country like a family dynasty since 1948.

In a snide tone, she said "it is true" that her brother has "good memories of the US president and we feel personally positive towards him." But the personal relations between the leaders of the two countries cannot be confused with the relations between the two states. US hostile policy has not changed at all," he wrote.

Afterwards, he highlighted that the USA was still carrying out military exercises with its rival South Korea, a country that has been in an armistice with the North for 73 years. In an unprecedented way in the relationship with the capitalist government in the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, Trump cut the exercises that began on Monday (17) in half. Thus, the 11 days of maneuvers became 5, ending this Friday (21).

"This measure is not worth commenting on, and we have no interest in it. The provocative and aggressive nature of these exercises will not change, even if their duration and scale are reduced", he concluded.

Kim's sister said she had no information about her brother's contacts with Trump, as the American had said earlier this week. Asked this Wednesday about a Wall Street Journal report that he wanted a meeting later this year, Trump said: "Yes, I will meet with him." The stage for such a meeting could be, according to the newspaper, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, which takes place in November in Shenzhen (China).

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung lamented Trump's decision and said it reinforces his policy of making the peninsula's military command independent in the event of war.

Analysts fear the move will lead Seoul to seek its own nuclear bomb, given the perception of American disengagement. Pyongyang, which rejected Lee's normalization proposals and accelerated its missile testing, operates an estimated 60 atomic warheads.

China, one of Kim's few allies alongside Russia and Iran, is closely monitoring the situation. His foreign minister, Wang Yi, is in Seoul this Wednesday for talks that could lead to a summit between Lee and leader Xi Jinping, something that would signal a political shift in East Asia.

Kim Yo-jong's positioning is part of this ballet, seeking to demonstrate independence while Trump gives contradictory signals.

The American appears to be looking for a diplomatic asset as he finds himself bogged down in the inconclusive war against Iran ahead of November's legislative elections, when he could lose control of Congress.

Kim, the dictator, was once the object of adulation from Trump in the Republican's first term, who called him "little rocket man" for his nuclear aspirations. At that time, Pyongyang not only conducted an atomic test but also tested missiles capable of reaching the United States.

The escalation led to an accommodation suggested by Trump, which pleased Kim. However, after three meetings, the relationship cooled and died, being buried by Joe Biden and his policy of renewed alliance with South Korea. This is now changing again.

Kim also has on hand the letter of the mutual defense agreement signed with Vladimir Putin in 2024, which sent thousands of his soldiers to fight against the Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region. Under the arrangement, if Seoul invades the North, the Kremlin could intervene — with global, perhaps nuclear, consequences.

In this Wednesday's statement, Sister Kim denied, however, the report by the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, that the Asian dictatorship was ready to send 50,000 soldiers to help Putin in an offensive against his territory.

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