North Korea has forcefully rejected all diplomatic overtures from South Korea, vowing it will “never talk to the South” and dismissing President Lee Jae Myung’s denuclearisation agenda as a “pipe dream.”
The statement, released on Saturday, came as Lee was in a state summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, specifically asking for China’s help to restart dialogue with Pyongyang.
In recent years, North Korea has completely altered its policy toward the South, abandoning its goal of unification and officially designating Seoul as its “main enemy.”
President Lee had proposed a “phased approach” to Xi, starting with a freeze on the North’s nuclear development. Lee hoped that recent high-level exchanges between China and North Korea created “favourable conditions” for talks.
While President Xi, a key ally of North Korea, called the South an “inseparable partner” and signed seven economic deals, his state media made no mention of the North Korea issue. Both sides did agree that U.S.-North Korea dialogue was the “most important” way forward.