- - North Korea's Kim Yo Jong says South's hopes for better relations are an illusion

By Heejin KimJanuary 14, 2026 at 8:39 AM

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Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attends wreath laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/Pool

By Heejin Kim

SEOUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said ​on Tuesday South Korea's hope for an improvement in relations ‌is an illusion that cannot be realised, state media KCNA reported.

The leader's powerful ‌sister, who is a director of North Korea's ruling party, criticised a comment attributed to a South Korean government official on Tuesday that Seoul saw a chance of talks resuming with Pyongyang based on her ⁠recent reaction to an ‌alleged drone incursion into her country.

"In conclusion, it has already gone wrong in their expectation," Kim was ‍quoted by KCNA as saying.

"As far as Seoul's various hope-filled wild dreams called 'repair of (North-South) relations' are concerned, they all can never come true," Kim said.

The ​official at South Korea's Unification Ministry, which oversees relations with North ‌Korea, told reporters that the Kim Yo Jong seemed to have toned down her statement at the weekend when she urged Seoul to investigate drones flown to the North.

South Korea had "committed a grave provocation by infringing upon North Korea's sovereignty," Kim Yo Jong said ⁠in the statement published late on ​Tuesday, echoing her earlier criticism over the ​drones, according to KCNA.

"I make it clear once again to the hooligans of the enemy state," she said, ‍demanding a South ⁠Korean government apology and a pledge never to let similar incidents from occurring.

The administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ⁠has been seeking to improve ties with Pyongyang, but so far its overtures ‌have been rebuffed by its neighbour.

(Reporting by Heejin Kim; ‌Editing by Andrew Heavens, Ed Davies)

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