Jeong Dong-young "North Korea's Kim Yo-jong, a signal that dialogue is possible if it suits their interests."

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Kwon Hee-won and Noh Seon-woong = Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young interpreted on the 5th that North Korean Workers' Party General Affairs Director Kim Yo-jong said in a statement the previous day that "the options for maintaining peace clearly include dialogue," saying, "They are sending a signal that the possibility of dialogue is open if it suits their interests."

Minister Chung attended the general policy inquiry of the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Special Committee on this day and responded as follows to a question from Rep. Lee Ki-heon of the Democratic Party of Korea, who asked about his assessment of the recent inter-Korean relationship.

Minister Chung explained, "Yesterday, they directly said that they know that dialogue is necessary for peace. However, it is interpreted that they made clear the precondition that there is no need for dialogue unless there is a correction or modification of what they define as hostile policies, such as sanctions pressure, military training, and human rights."

At the same time, he emphasized, "North Korea is telling them that if they want to restore inter-Korean relations, they should show respect and consideration for themselves," and added, "I want to return those words to Pyongyang in the same way."