By Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea is willing to consider another inter-Korean summit if mutual respect between the rivals can be assured, state news agency KCNA reported on Saturday, citing Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Just a few days ago, North Korea asked the United States and South Korea for an end to their “hostile policy” and double standards in order to allow formal negotiations on the Korean War 1950-1953.

Although the 1950-53 Korean War was ended in an armistice, it wasn’t a peace treaty. However, U.S.-led U.N. forces are technically at war with North Korea.

North Korea’s search for nuclear weapons has complicated the question of how to officially end the war.

Kim Yo Jong stated that “only when impartiality is maintained and an attitude of respecting one another can there be smooth understanding among the north and south.”

Kim Yo Jong stated that constructive conversations offer the chance to find meaningful and effective solutions to many issues, including the “re-establishment and coordination of the north and south joint liaison office” and the summit. He also called for the declaration of the end of the war.

On Tuesday, South Korean President Moon Jaein addressed the U.N. General Assembly. He reiterated his call for an official end to war. However, he later stated that time was running out to make such progress before May’s expiration.

The United States is reluctant to accept a cease-fire in the conflict, despite North Korea’s decades-long demand for it.

Kim, who is the strong confidant of her elder brother, stated that she observed with interest the fierce discussion within the South about the new possibility of an official declaration of the Korean War’s end.

She said that she felt the South Korean public’s desire to restore inter-Korean relations and reach peaceful stability was strong.

We share the desire.

It was expected that an agreement on the end of war (even a treaty) would be signed at the historic summit between Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jung Un. This meeting took place in Singapore, 2018.

That possibility never materialized, and the momentum created by three meetings between North Korean leaders was lost. Since 2019, talks have been deadlocked.

U.S. President Joe Biden said in his own U.N. address that he wanted “sustained diplomacy” https://www.reuters.com/world/un-biden-will-try-move-past-afghanistan-with-climate-china-focus-2021-09-21 to resolve the crisis surrounding North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.

North Korea rejected U.S. offers to dialogue, and U.N. nuclear watchdog head said this week that North Korea’s nuclear program was “full steam ahead”.