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Kim Yo Jong said she was unaware of any talks between her brother and US President Donald Trump
Published On 19 Aug 2026
North Korea has dismissed claims of renewed dialogue between its leadership and the United States, with Kim Yo Jong rejecting assertions that her brother, leader Kim Jong Un, is engaged in discussions with US President Donald Trump.
“Regarding the recent news from Washington about communication between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, I am completely unaware of it, and it is likely the only matter concerning our top leadership’s foreign policy that I am unaware of,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday.
Her remarks came in response to Trump’s public statements earlier in the week, in which he claimed to have been in contact with Kim Jong Un and described the North Korean leader as “very positive” toward proposals for renewed talks.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump asserted that his relationship with Kim remains strong, stating, “Kim Jong Un has always treated me with great respect. I understand him. He understands me.”
President Trump has recently intensified his criticism of South Korea, accusing it of failing to support U.S. interests abroad—particularly in relation to the ongoing conflict in Iran. On Sunday, he directed the Pentagon to reduce the scope of joint military exercises with South Korea, a key regional ally that hosts approximately 28,500 American troops, a presence rooted in the 1950-53 Korean War, which concluded with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
In a pointed comments on Monday, Trump remarked, “US soldiers were in South Korea guarding you from Kim Jong Un, your next-door neighbor, and you’re not going to help us on a very easy military operation in Iran. That’s strange.”
The U.S. leader has also pressed traditional allies such as NATO members to contribute more financially to their own defense arrangements and to offer greater support for U.S. foreign policy objectives. Referring to his first term, Trump claimed that South Korea agreed to pay $3 billion annually for security cooperation and suggested that higher payments could be pursued moving forward.
“We can’t go around and protect all of these countries, especially when they’re not there to help us,” Trump said.
Past attempts at rapprochement between Trump and Kim yielded limited tangible outcomes. The two leaders met in 2018 in Singapore, marking a historic summit aimed at achieving the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula. Additional meetings followed, including a notable encounter in 2019 at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, where Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to enter North Korea.
Despite these diplomatic gestures, analysts note that North Korea has continued to advance its weapons programs and deepen strategic partnerships, including its reported dispatch of military personnel to support Russian operations in Ukraine.