Seoul - (AFP) - Pyongyang on Friday rejected an offer made to it by Seoul this week, stipulating that North Korea would obtain financial and economic assistance from its southern neighbor in return for the North giving up its nuclear weapons.

South Korean President Yoon Sok-yul proposed this week to North Korea an aid package in the areas of food, energy and infrastructure if it abandons its nuclear weapons program.

Lyon made this proposal for the first time in May in his inaugural speech, but analysts considered that the chances of Pyongyang accepting such an offer are slim, if not non-existent.

North Korea has long asserted that it can never accept such a compromise.

On Friday, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, launched a fierce attack on the South Korean president, considering his offer "the height of absurdity."

"When you find out that the plan to barter 'economic cooperation' for our honor, for our nuclear weapons, is Leon's great dream, hope and plan, then you realize that it is really simple and even childish," said the influential woman, according to what was quoted by the official Central News Agency.

"Obviously, we're not going to sit face-to-face with him," she added.

This year, North Korea conducted a record number of missile tests, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch since 2017.

Officials in Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned that North Korea is preparing to resume its nuclear tests.