North Korea signals 'interest' in formal end to war with South

However, Kim Yo Jong says Seoul first needs to change hostile rhetoric

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong attend a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in 2018. Despite a decades-old armistice, the two Koreas technically remain at war. © Reuters

YOSUKE ONCHI, Nikkei staff writer

September 25, 2021 03:00 JST

SEOUL -- Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on Friday called the idea of formally ending its war with South Korea "interesting," signaling that her country may be open to discussing the matter.

"The declaration of the termination of the war is an interesting and an admirable idea," Kim Yo Jong said in a statement published by North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency. Kim serves as vice department director of the ruling Workers' Party Central Committee.