Kim Yo Jong warned Tuesday that the U.S.-South Korea Freedom Shield joint military exercise could lead to “unimaginably terrible consequences.” She is seen here at a wreath-laying ceremony in Vietnam in 2020. File Pool Photo by Jorge Silva/EPA-EFE
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned Tuesday that the ongoing U.S.-South Korea Freedom Shield joint military exercise could lead to “unimaginably terrible consequences,” while appearing to reference Washington’s widening conflict with Iran.
Kim, recently promoted to department director level in the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, issued the statement through the state-run Korean Central News Agency a day after the allies began their annual spring exercise.
“The muscle-flexing of the hostile forces near the areas of our state’s sovereignty and security may cause unimaginably terrible consequences,” Kim said.
“This will result in further destroying the stability of the region,” she added.
Freedom Shield, which runs through March 19, includes command-post simulations and field training drills involving some 18,000 South Korean troops. The United States has not disclosed the number of participating American personnel.
Kim also alluded to Washington’s war with Iran, saying the exercise comes at a time when “wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of the outrageous international rogues.”
North Korea last week condemned the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran, calling it an “unjustifiable war of aggression” that stemmed from Washington’s “hegemonic and rogue nature.”
The exercise comes as the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung seeks to revive dialogue with Pyongyang and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The number of field training exercises during this year’s Freedom Shield has been reduced to 22, down from 51 conducted during the previous iteration of the drills under the conservative government of impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
North Korea has long condemned the allies’ joint drills as rehearsals for invasion and in her statement, Kim criticized what she described as the “confrontational nature” of the exercise.
“It is not a ‘military game’ but provocative and aggressive war rehearsal of those simulating and planning the confrontation with the DPRK,” she said, using the official acronym of North Korea.
Despite Seoul’s outreach, Pyongyang has rejected its diplomatic overtures. Kim Jong Un recently described South Korea’s approach as a “clumsy deceptive farce.”
At the same time, the North Korean leader has suggested the possibility of future talks with Washington, saying last month there was “no reason” the two countries could not improve relations if the United States abandons what he described as its hostile policy.
Kim has previously said he has “fond memories” of U.S. President Donald Trump, whom he met three times during Trump’s first term. South Korean officials have pointed to Trump’s planned visit to China later this month as a possible opportunity to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang.
