Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, on August 19, 2022, dismissed the possibility of face-to-face talks with the South. She also rejected Seoul’s offer of economic assistance in return for denuclearisation as the “height of absurdity”. Her statement comes days after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol offered an “audacious” aid plan that would include food, energy and infrastructure help in return for the North’s denuclearisation.