Seoul, South Korea – The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday issued a blistering critique of the United States and South Korea for proceeding with their annual joint military exercises, warning that any challenge to the North’s safety would bring “terrible consequences.”
Kim Yo Jong’s statement comes as the allies kicked off their 11-day Freedom Shield exercise, involving thousands of troops, while Washington remains deeply entangled in an escalating war in the Middle East.
A Collapsing Global Order
Without directly referencing the Iran conflict, Kim framed the drills as a reckless provocation at a perilous moment in world affairs.
Kim said the U.S.-South Korea exercises undermine regional stability at a time when the global security structure is “collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues.”
Freedom Shield is one of two annual command post exercises conducted by the US and South Korean militaries. The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities and incorporate evolving war scenarios. They are accompanied by a field training program called Warrior Shield.
Nuclear Deterrence
Mentioning the country’s expanding nuclear program, Kim Yo Jong stated that North Korea will continue to bolster its “destructive power” against external threats and “constantly and repeatedly convince the enemies of our war deterrence and its fatality.”
North Korea has long characterized the allies’ joint drills as invasion rehearsals and has often used them as a pretext for its own weapons tests and military demonstrations.
US Assets and Regional Tensions
Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged that some U.S. “air defense weapons” based in South Korea could be relocated, likely to support operations in the Middle East. Media speculation has suggested the US is moving Patriot missile defense systems from the region.
“Our government has expressed opposition to such moves, but it’s also an undeniable reality that we cannot fully control the situation according to our wishes,” Lee said.
Last week, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry described the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran as an “illegal act of aggression.”
A New Cold War
Amid a yearslong diplomatic freeze with Washington and Seoul, Kim Jong Un has increasingly framed his foreign policy around the idea of a new Cold War. Pyongyang has deepened ties with Moscow and Beijing, supplying Russia with munitions, missiles, and thousands of soldiers for its war in Ukraine.
In a separate development, South Korea’s Unification Ministry believes train services between Pyongyang and Beijing will resume this week for the first time in six years, after being suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially signaling a further thaw in Sino-North Korean relations.
source : AP
