White House: Biden does not intend to meet with N. Korean leader

U.S. President Joe Biden has no intention of meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House said. Despite North Korea’s recent missile tests aimed at pressuring the U.S., Washington has made it clear that it will not prematurely take a “top-down” approach with Kim.

Against this backdrop, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, lashed out at South Korean President Moon Jae-in, calling him “a parrot raised by America” after he said the North’s missile tests were “undesirable.” The South Korean administration has put restoring inter-Korean relations and resuming U.S.-North Korea dialogue at the top of its agenda during the remainder of Moon’s term, but found itself sandwiched between Washington, which does not intend to back off despite the North’s provocations, and Pyongyang, which continues to criticize both Seoul and Washington.

When asked during a regular briefing on Monday (local time) if President Biden’s diplomatic approach to North Korea includes meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Biden’s approach would be “quite different and that is not his intention.”

Meanwhile, Kim Yo Jong slammed President Moon for criticizing the North’s recent missile tests in a statement on Tuesday. “Such illogical and brazen-faced behavior of South Korea is exactly the same as the gangster-like logic of the U.S. faulting the right of the DPRK to self-defense as a violation of the UN resolutions and threats to the international community,” she said. “Moon cannot feel sorry for being ‘praised’ as a parrot raised by America.” A high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official expressed regret over Kim’s statement, urging the North to show willingness to engage in talks. The South Korean Ministry of Unification also expressed strong regret, saying the two Koreas must observe “the rules of minimum etiquette in any circumstance.”


lightee@donga.com