The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un fired back at the White House on Monday with a vague warning about what would happen if the Biden administration got off on the wrong foot with Pyongyang.
CNN reported that Kim Yo Jong, who officially holds a high-ranking position in North Korea’s only political party, issued a statement warning the White House against “causing a stink with its first step,” an apparent reference to any attempt by the Biden administration to reverse moves made by President Trump in his diplomatic overtures to North Korea.
“We take this opportunity to warn the new US administration trying hard to give off powder smell in our land,” she said, according to CNN, which cited the North Korean state news agency. “If it wants to sleep in peace for [the] coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step.”
Her remarks came hours after White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at Monday’s press briefing that the U.S. has had little to no official contact with North Korea’s government since before President Biden took office in January.
“Diplomacy is always our goal. Our goal is to reduce the risk of escalation. But, to date, we have not received any response,” Psaki said.
Psaki added that it had been more than a year “without active dialogue with North Korea, despite multiple attempts by the U.S. to engage.”
The message from Kim Jong Un’s sibling comes nearly one year after rampant speculation of the leader’s grave illness, including reports of his death. But earlier this year, speculation then swirled about Kim Yo Jong’s status in politics, according to The Associated Press.
The U.S. and North Korea experienced a period of unprecedented contact under the Trump administration, with the former president becoming the first to step foot on North Korean soil during a visit to the Demilitarized Zone. The conversations between the two governments quickly evaporated, however, and no major progress was made by the U.S. toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Last month it was revealed that Trump offered to let Kim Jong Un fly home to North Korea aboard Air Force One following a meeting between the pair in Hanoi, Vietnam, an offer Kim reportedly turned down at the time.