The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs has pledged to leave behind this “era of hostility and confrontation” and open up a “new era of peaceful coexistence and shared growth on the Korean Peninsula.”

The promise came Wednesday in a response from Seoul’s unification ministry to the latest criticism from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong.

The ministry stressed the importance of the two Koreas respecting each other to establish peace on the peninsula and benefit people on both sides.

Vowing consistent efforts to carry out the policy initiatives President Lee Jae Myung announced on Liberation Day, the ministry said the government is taking proactive measures to bring about peace, not to benefit just one side but to achieve stability and prosperity for both Koreas. 

According to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo-jong conveyed her brother’s foreign policy plans to senior foreign ministry officials at a meeting in which she slammed Lee’s approach and said Seoul and Pyongyang cannot be diplomatic partners.

She added that Lee is not the sort of man who will change the course of history.