The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ripped South Korea for proceeding with military exercises with the United States that she said are an invasion rehearsal and warned Tuesday that the North will work faster to strengthen its preemptive strike capabilities.
Kim Yo Jong’s statement came after South Korean media reported that the allied militaries will begin four days of preliminary training on Tuesday before holding computer-simulated drills on Aug. 16-26.
Kim said she was given authority to release the statement, implying the message came directly from her brother.
Hours after her comments were published on state media, South Korea’s defense and unification ministries said North Korean officials hadn’t responded to their calls Tuesday afternoon over inter-Korean hotlines, which had been disconnected for a year before North Korea agreed to reopen them in late July. The Koreas then described the move as a conciliatory gesture.
South Korean officials said they were closely monitoring the development, but that it wasn’t immediately clear whether North Korea had cut the communication channels again. Kim Yo Jong described South Korea’s decision to hold joint exercises despite earlier warnings by the North as “perfidious behavior” that will push the allies into facing a “more serious security threat.”
