President Lee Jae Myung has said it is important for the two Koreas to restore mutual trust in a peaceful atmosphere, after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, rebuffed Seoul’s conciliatory gestures.

According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung on Monday, Lee made the remarks after presenting a certificate of appointment to Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.

The president also asked the minister about the statement issued earlier in the day by Kim, the deputy department director of the Central Committee of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party.

Chung, in response, pledged efforts to restore peace between the two Koreas after years of cross-border hostility that have worsened mistrust on both sides.

In Pyongyang’s first official statement about the Lee administration’s peace overtures, the regime leader’s sister said the North has no interest in sitting down for talks with the South, regardless of what policy Seoul establishes or proposes.