Pyongyang: Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has said that South Korea’s hopes of improving relations with North Korea are unrealistic. Her comments were reported by state media KCNA on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
Kim Yo Jong, who is a senior official and director in North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, criticised remarks made by a South Korean government official. The official had suggested that there might be a chance for talks to resume between Seoul and Pyongyang following Kim Yo Jong’s recent response to an alleged drone incursion into North Korea.
Rejecting this idea, Kim Yo Jong said that South Korea was mistaken in believing that relations could improve under the current situation. She stressed that such expectations were nothing more than an illusion and could not be achieved.
Her comments underline the continued tension between the two Koreas and suggest that dialogue remains unlikely in the near future, despite occasional signs of possible engagement.