Seoul: The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday condemned the ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States, warning of "unimaginably terrible consequences."
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim Yo-jong, a department director at the ruling party, issued the warning in a press statement a day after Seoul and Washington kicked off their annual springtime military exercise, the Freedom Shield, for an 11-day run. "The muscle-flexing of the hostile forces near the areas of our state's sovereignty and security may cause unimaginably terrible consequences," Kim said in the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim remarked that the exercise is occurring "at a critical time when global security structure is collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of the outrageous international rogues." She warned that this will further destabilize the region and criticized the drills as a demonstration of the countries' "inveterate repugnancy" and "habitual hostile policy" toward Pyongyang.
Citing "recent global geopolitical crisis and complicated international events," Kim suggested these show that military maneuvers by enemy field warfare troops blur the lines between defense and attack, training and actual warfare. She advocated for an "extraordinarily overwhelming and preemptive super-offensive" to suppress such actions.
Kim did not specify which global crisis she was referring to, but it appeared to allude to the ongoing conflict involving U.S.-Israel and Iran. She emphasized that North Korea's head of state has clarified that the strongest offensive capability is the most reliable deterrent, warning enemies not to test North Korea's patience, will, and capability.
An official at South Korea's unification ministry noted Kim did not directly refer to the U.S. or threaten with the regime's nuclear arsenal in her statement. This suggests North Korea may have refrained from a high-intensity response to the drills amid conflict in the Middle East. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, mentioned that Kim seems to have focused her response on the South Korea-U.S. exercise, considering the current security situation.
The unification ministry reaffirmed its policy of seeking peaceful coexistence with North Korea, and the Lee Jae Myung administration's commitment to resuming talks and building peace with Pyongyang.
Some 18,000 troops are expected to participate in the FS exercise, engaging in drills that simulate real-war scenarios and incorporate modern warfare tactics. The allies plan to conduct 22 field training drills during this year's FS exercise, about half of the 51 on-field drills conducted last year.
Tuesday's statement represents Kim's first public remarks toward South Korea since her promotion to director of the ruling party's general affairs department at last month's ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, where she was previously a vice party department director.