North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister labelled Seoul’s joint military exercises with the US “treacherous” on Tuesday, saying that the two allies would face more security risks as a result.
Despite a surprising thaw on the Korean peninsula triggered by a series of personal letters between her brother and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Kim Yo Jong’s fresh words came despite a surprise thaw on the Korean peninsula.
Last month, the two sides announced that their leaders had decided to focus on repairing ties after cutting down cross-border interactions more than a year ago.
However, Kim Yo Jong, her brother’s top adviser, called the South “treacherous” for staging “dangerous” joint military drills with Washington this month, which the North has always viewed as invasion rehearsals.
In a statement posted by Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency, she stated, “I take this occasion to express my strong apologies for the treacherous treatment of the South Korean authorities.”
Kim’s remarks came as the US and South Korean forces began preparatory training on Tuesday in preparation for the annual summertime drill next week.
Seoul and Washington would “certainly face greater security challenges” as a result of the drills, she said, while the North would strengthen its defence and pre-emptive attack capabilities.
Seoul and Washington are treaty allies, with the US stationing some 28,500 troops in the South to protect it from its nuclear-armed neighbour.
They have previously reduced the size of their yearly joint military drills to make nuclear discussions with Pyongyang easier.
Moon, the dovish leader of South Korea, is credited with arranging the first-ever meeting between North Korea and a sitting US president in June 2018 in Singapore.
Following the failure of a second summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, which stalled nuclear discussions, the North largely cut off ties with Seoul.
