Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, made the announcement according to KCNA. North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons has complicated the question of both countries formally ending their war, which halted with an armistice, rather than a peace treaty, leaving US-led UN forces technically still at war with the North.

For decades, North Korea has sought an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, but the United States has been reluctant to agree unless it gives up nuclear weapons.

Last week, September 22, at the United Nations General Assembly, South Korea’s president Moon Jae-In stated he will like both countries together with the US and China to declare an end to the war and now North Korea has responded saying they could have another peace summit if both countries respect each other.

“I think that only when impartiality and the attitude of respecting each other are maintained, can there be a smooth understanding between the north and the south,” said Kim Yo Jong, a confidante of her brother.

Constructive discussions offer a chance for solutions on issues such as “the re-establishment of the north-south joint liaison office and the north-south summit, to say nothing of the timely declaration of the significant termination of the war”, Kim said.

In her remarks, Kim said she noted with interest the intense discussion in the South over the renewed prospect of a formal declaration.

“I felt that the atmosphere of the South Korean public desiring to recover the inter-Korean relations from a deadlock and achieve peaceful stability as soon as possible is irresistibly strong,” she said. “We, too, have the same desire.”

On Sunday, responding to the remarks, Seoul’s unification ministry said in a statement, “For these discussions, the inter-Korean communication line must first be restored swiftly, as smooth and stable communication is important.”

South Korea welcomed the news on Sunday, with the Unification Ministry saying it expected to swiftly engage in talks with Pyongyang while urging the need to restore a hotline link between the two.

The hotline, maintained by South Korea’s military to handle relations with Pyongyang, has not operated since August, as North Korea stopped answering calls.

The warning comes after pictures of the leader looking increasingly thin caused a stir when he made his first appearance following a prolonged absence in June.

Government officials are now insisting that the 37-year-old ruler, commonly referred to as the ‘Highest Dignity’ by state media, is not only perfectly healthy but has in fact lost weight as a result of worrying about his people and their ongoing food shortages, which has been blamed on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Spreading rumours about the Dignity’s health is regarded as treason by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), an unnamed insider has disclosed to the US-backed news outlet Radio Free Asia.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “As stories of health problems related to the Highest Dignity’s weight loss spread among the residents, many of the neighbourhood watch units here in Chongjin made official statements to the people at their weekly meeting, saying that it is a ‘reactionary act’ to talk about the leader’s health.

“The neighbourhood watch units also said the sudden weight loss is not due to a health problem, but rather that he is suffering in solitude for the sake of the country and people in crisis.”

Some at the meeting claimed to be ‘heartbroken’ to learn their leader was suffering alone in the face of the nationwide crisis – but according to the insider they were only saying what the officials present at the meeting wanted to hear.

Another source, residing in the city of Sariwon, south of the capital Pyongyang, also claimed that neighbourhood watch units there have warned people not to gossip about Kim’s health.

The second source, who requested anonymity for security purposes, said: “Although Sariwon did not convene an emergency meeting of residents to reassure them that the Highest Dignity is healthy, it did caution people in neighbourhood watch meetings not to mention his health.

“They emphasised that it is prohibited to share any stories about the health of the leader, who they said had become emaciated due to the piling up of national affairs.

“But public suspicion that he has health problems has not subsided.”

This is the first time the leader is publicly acknowledging the country’s covid-19 crisis as information that leaves North Korea is tightly guarded.

North Korea – closed its borders to keep out the virus after previously insisting it had no Covid cases a claim that was doubted by health experts.

Last week, Kim admitted there was a “tense” food situation and told citizens to prepare for the “worst-ever” outcome. On Monday, North Korean state television aired a rare remark by a citizen commenting on Kim’s “emaciated” look after he appeared to have lost some weight.

In remarks reported by state news outlet KCNA, Kim accused senior officials of negligence at a specially convened meeting of party leaders. As a result, they “caused a crucial case of creating a great crisis in ensuring the security of the state and safety of the people and entailed grave consequences”.

The report then added that several members of the party had been recalled including one member from the powerful Standing Committee – which is composed of five members, including Kim himself. Interpreting Kim’s remarks , North Korean defector and researcher Ahn Chan-il told the AFP news that the report meant that the country was likely to have confirmed Covid cases.

There were reports last year that Kim had surgery and was in a dire financial state, reports the NK government denied.

However, over the weekend North Korean state television aired an unusual interview in which a Pyongyang resident said he and others living in the capital were “heartbroken” to see that the country’s tyrant leader Kim Jong Un had lost so much weight.

In recent weeks, North Korean media has shown Kim looking noticeably thinner.

Pyongyang has not officially acknowledged any changes to Kim’s weight or health, so the new interview is the most official confirmation to date of the secretive North Korean leader’s sudden change of appearance.

In the interview the unnamed individual told a reporter from KCTV, North Korea’s state-run television network, that “the people, including myself, were most heartbroken when we saw the respected General Secretary (Kim Jong Un’s official title) looking gaunt … everyone says it brought them to tears.”

The interview was aired just once, meaning it’s also possible the interview didn’t receive official blessing from North Korean superiors as the country often reruns newscasts instead of constantly producing live programming.

Kim’s health is a closely guarded secret in North Korea, whose leaders always believe there is the possibility of an impending invasion or regime change. The country is still technically at war with the United States and South Korea.

In North Korea discussing a rumour about the health of Kim Jong Un can get you in trouble with the state’s security services.

Biden’s administration launched secret attempts last month to reach out to North Korea through multiple channels, according to a Saturday, March 13 report by Reuters but thus far Pyongyang has been unresponsive.

News of the outreach comes as lawmakers and key US allies are eagerly awaiting details about Biden’s North Korea policy, which they expect will be announced publicly in the coming weeks when the administration has completed a policy review.

It is believed that North Korea is now a nuclear-capable country capable of launching nuclear attacks on its neighbours, Japan and South Korea but whether their nuclear bombs can reach the United States Mainland is still not confirmed by the US.

Reports say Biden attempted to reach out to Kim to reduce the risks of escalation between both countries, It should also be noted that it’s been over a year since the North Korean government had any communication with the US, and that was when Donald Trump was in power.

An unnamed US official told CNN in response to the Reuters report “To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang. This follows over a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite multiple attempts by the US to engage.” According to the US official, the new United States’ policy towards North Korea will include an ”evaluation of all available options to address the increasing threat posed by North Korea to its neighbours and the broader international community.”

During the new NK policy review process, the Biden administration has consulted with former government officials with experience in North Korea policy, including officials from the Trump administration.

“We look forward to completing our intensive, multi-stakeholder policy review in the coming weeks,” the official said.

Recently, US Satellite imagery showed North Korea has taken steps to conceal a facility that US intelligence agencies believe is being used to store nuclear weapons.

Kim speaking on Monday, July 27, made the remarks during a reception for veterans as his hermit nation celebrated the 67th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

According to Kim, North Korea developed nuclear weapons to win “absolute strength”  and stave off another armed conflict, Kim said in his speech.

He said “Now we are capable of defending ourselves in the face of any form of high-intensity pressure and military threats from imperialist and hostile forces. Thanks to our reliable and effective self-defensive nuclear deterrent, there will no longer be a war on the earth, and our country’s safety and future will be firmly guaranteed forever”

During a party meeting on Tuesday, Kim said his country “will shift to a shocking actual action that will make the United States pay for the pains sustained by our people”.

North Korea has not conducted a long-range missile test or a nuclear test in more than two years since Kim announced his moratorium at a time when he hoped negotiations with the United States and his budding personal relationship with President Trump would prompt the United States to begin lifting crippling sanctions.  North Korea had set a December 31st deadline for the United States to make at least some concessions, complaining that its 18 months of diplomacy with President Trump had yielded limited results.

Experts that spoke to Fox News said that China is complicit in the abuse, and have said in cases where involuntary abortions aren’t ordered, North Korean officials engage in outright infanticide.

“Terrifying reports from female defectors depict undergoing forced abortions after they fled to what they thought was freedom in China, only to be repatriated back to North Korea by authorities in China,” said Olivia Enos, Senior Policy Analyst for Asian Studies at The Heritage Foundation. “Other women from North Korea recount having aborted babies born alive or giving birth in ordinary prison camps only to have border guards smother or drown their babies before their very eyes.”

Kim Dong-hyun, an analyst and journalist for Chosun News-Press and a former Air Force Officer for the Republic of Korea, added there has been no marked improvements with regards to North Korea’s human rights record in recent years when it comes to forced abortions.

“These [women] are treated like an animal and have been put through forced abortions and it is done in many ways,” he said. “This is inhumane and a serious problem.”

Indeed, the barbarity allegedly knows no bounds, as Kim explicitly detailed.

“Pregnant women can be made to lie on the ground. Then [guards] put a long and wide piece of wood on her stomach. They pick two people for the job. These two people could be the son of the woman, her husband or lover, or any relative. These men stand on top of the wooden board like a see-saw,” Kim said. “Using a burning iron is another method. The punisher carries a long piece of metal and lets it burn until red or yellow, then puts it into the pregnant woman. A woman can die from this punishment, and often, if she survives, she cannot walk properly.”

Kenji Fujimoto, a Japanese national, has served as personal chef to the Kim family for more than a decade, even when the current leader was still a child. He came back into the repressive country in 2017 and reportedly opened a sushi restaurant called Takahashi.

But media reports last month speculated that Fujimoto may have been arrested by North Korean authorities, with Japan’s Daily Shincho magazine reporting that the chef had been detained over a “past betrayal,” the Telegraph reported.

Following the news, Japan’s foreign ministry failed to confirm the chef’s location. But on Tuesday, Colin Crooks, the British ambassador to North Korea, put the mystery to rest after tweeting pictures of Fujimoto working at his sushi restaurant in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.

“Lunch today prepared by Master Chef #KenjiFujimoto at his #Pyongyang Japanese restaurant. Sashimi set was excellent,” Crooks said in a tweet.

Fujimoto revealed his knowledge of the inner workings of the ruling family previously, not excluding some very intimate details and their lavish lifestyle.

He also feared that his outspokenness after he left the hermit kingdom in 2001 could cause him trouble and accusations of “disloyalty,” though he later met Kim in 2013 and was reassured of his safety, the newspaper reported.

Fujimoto was interviewed by the Washington Post’s Anna Fifield for the book on the North Korean leader, claiming that Kim once was rude to him, refused to shake his hand, and “glared at him with ‘sharp eyes’ that seemed to say, ‘You abhorrent Japanese.’”

Xi, however, didn’t mention stalled nuclear weapons talks between Washington and Pyongyang in the Rodong Sinmun article on Wednesday. He said that his visit would “strengthen strategic communication and exchange” between the traditional allies.

On Thursday and Friday, Xi will visit North Korea. Kim met Xi four times in China last year during a diplomatic outreach that also involved meetings with the leaders of the United States and South Korea.