Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned Friday that future drone incursions by South Korea would trigger a “terrible response.” Kim is seen here in a 2019 photo at a wreath-laying ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam. File Pool Photo by Jorge Silva/EPA-EFE
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said Friday that Seoul’s expression of regret over alleged drone incursions was “sensible,” but cautioned that any future flights would trigger a “terrible response.”
The statement, carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, followed comments Tuesday by South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who expressed “deep regrets” over alleged drone flights into the North as part of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s broader push to ease tensions with Pyongyang.
North Korea’s military last month said it shot down a South Korean surveillance drone near the border city of Kaesong. Seoul has denied involvement, saying it does not operate the drone model cited by the North.
Kim described Chung’s remarks as “fortunate” and “quite sensible behavior,” but said South Korean authorities must take preventive measures to ensure such violations “would never happen again.”
“We don’t care who the very manipulator of the drone infiltration into the airspace of the DPRK is and whether it is an individual or a civilian organization,” she said.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
“I give advance warning that reoccurrence of such provocation as violating the inalienable sovereignty of the DPRK will surely provoke a terrible response,” Kim said. “Various counterattack plans are on the table and one of them will be chosen without doubt and it will go beyond proportionality.”
A South Korean investigation initially centered on three civilians who were placed under travel bans last month. But a joint military-police task force on Tuesday raided the country’s spy agency and a military intelligence command as the probe widened to include three military officers as suspects.
On Wednesday, the Unification Ministry said Seoul would take immediate action to prevent future incidents.
“The government is conducting a thorough investigation and will immediately implement measures to prevent similar incidents,” ministry spokesman Yoon Min-ho said at a regular press briefing.
Kim’s statement was “signaling the need for joint efforts between the two Koreas to ease tensions and prevent accidents on the Korean Peninsula,” Yoon added.
North Korea is preparing to convene its Ninth Party Congress later this month, where Kim Jong Un is expected to outline a new five-year economic plan and recalibrate military and foreign policy priorities. Analysts will be watching for signs the North will formalize a hardened posture toward Seoul. In 2024, Pyongyang designated the South a “hostile state” and publicly rejected the long-held goal of reunification.
