Pyongyang says Seoul’s overtures are ‘great miscalculation’

North Korea has no interest in any policy or proposals for reconciliation from South Korea, the powerful sister of its leader Kim Jong-un said yesterday in the first response to South Korean liberal President Lee Jae-myung's peace overtures.

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Kim Yo-jong, who is a senior North Korean ruling party official and is believed to speak for the country’s leader, said Mr Lee’s pledge of commitment to South Korea-US security alliance shows he is no different from his hostile predecessor.

“If South Korea expects to reverse all the consequences of [its actions] with a few sentimental words, there could be no greater miscalculation than that,” Ms Kim said in comments carried by official KCNA news agency.

Mr Lee, who took office on June 4 after winning a snap election called after the removal of hardline conservative Yoon Suk-yeol over a failed attempt at martial law, has vowed to improve ties with Pyongyang that had reached the worst level in years.

As gestures aimed at easing tensions, Mr Lee suspended loudspeaker broadcasts blasting anti-North propaganda across the border and banned the flying of leaflets by activists that had angered Pyongyang.