The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the United States had "wrong expectations" for an early resumption of diplomacy with North Korea," the official Korean Central News Agency reports.
According to Kim Yo Jong, the U.S. expectations of dialogues would "plunge them into a greater disappointment," The Associated Press said.
Yo Jong, who is an adviser to her brother, appeared to reject prospects for an early resumption of talks, saying the U.S. seemed to be seeking "comfort for itself."
Sung Kim, the recently appointed U.S. special representative for North Korea, said he was willing to meet the North Koreans "anywhere, anytime without preconditions" and that he looks forward to a "positive response soon," Al Jazeera said.
Shin Beomchul, an analyst with the Seoul-headquartered Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said the North has been conveying the same message for months.
Beomchul said North Korea has no interest in resuming dialogues unless the U.S. offers meaningful concessions, likely in the form of loosed economic sanctions.
Hope for a restart of nuclear talks flared briefly after Kim last week said his country must be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation with the U.S.
Since U.S. President Joe Biden's election, the North and the U.S. have adopted a wait-and-see attitude to relations after the diplomatic roller-coaster ride under Donald Trump.
Yo Jong's remarks "have not changed our view on diplomacy", U.S. Department of State representative Ned Price said.
"We remain prepared to engage in negotiations with the North to deal with the challenge of its nuclear program," he said in quotes by Agence France-Presse.
The Biden administration, for its part, does not want to ease economic sanctions against North Korea.
