▲ This file photo, captured from the homepage of North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 11, 2022, shows Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister and vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

N Korea-US-talks

N. Korea says it will 'never sit face to face' with Washington for talks

SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday dismissed the possibility of resuming dialogue with the United States, saying that Pyongyang will "never sit face to face" with Washington.

The statement by Kim Yo-jong followed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting earlier this week that was convened to discuss the North's launch of a military spy satellite condemned by the international community.

During the meeting, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington continues to call for dialogue with Pyongyang, without preconditions, and that it is up to the North "to make that choice" and "choose the time and topic."

"We make it clear once again to the U.S. which asked the DPRK to fix the time and agenda for resuming the DPRK-U.S. dialogue," Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, referring to her country by its formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The sovereignty of an independent state can never be an agenda item for negotiations, and therefore, the DPRK will never sit face to face with the U.S. for that purpose," Kim said.

Kim accused the U.S. of "oppressing" global peace and security with what she called "high-handed" and "arbitrary" actions, saying the North will continue to exercise its sovereign rights as a member state of the U.N. "without being restricted."

Kim claimed the recent UNSC meeting was convened at the "gangster-like" demand of the U.S. and its allies and is proof that some U.N. member states are denying the North's sovereign rights.

"I deplore the fact that the UNSC, at which the purpose and principle of the U.N. Charter have to be strictly respected, is being turned into a land of lawlessness where the sovereignty of independent states is wantonly violated," Kim said.

Pyongyang has defended the satellite launch as a "legitimate" exercise of its right to self-defense and has vowed to launch several more satellites within a short span of time.

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