The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says they are ready to resume talks with South Korea if it ends its "hostile policies".
Kim Yo-jong was responding to a new call from South Korea to officially announce the end of the Korean War.
The conflict, which divided the peninsula into two countries, ended in 1953 but a peace treaty was signed.
The two countries have been at war since then, and have experienced strained relations at times.
This week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in called on the two Koreas and their allies - the United States, which supports the South, and China, a major North American ally, - to announce an end to a formal conflict and bring peace to the Korean peninsula.
The idea was previously dismissed by North Korea's top minister as "early".
But in an unexpected statement released Friday through state media, Ms.. Kim said the idea was "appealing".
However,, he added that North Korea would only be willing to discuss the proposal if South Korea abandoned what he called "hostile policies" on them.
"What needs to be eradicated is hypocrisy, discrimination, misconduct,, and hostility to justify their own actions while criticizing our implementation of the right to self-defense," he said in a statement.
"Only when such a condition is met will it be possible to sit face to face and declare an end to war."
