Seoul, South Korea –
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said her country would never accept South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s “foolish” offer of economic benefits in exchange for denuclearization measures, accusing Seoul of recycling proposals Pyongyang has already rejected.
In a comment published by state media on Friday, Kim Yo Jong stressed that his country has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program in exchange for economic cooperation, saying “no one trades their destiny for corn cake.”
She questioned the sincerity of South Korea’s calls to improve bilateral relations as it continues its joint military exercises with the United States and fails to prevent civilian activists from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets and other “dirty garbage” through its border.
He also ridiculed South Korea’s military capabilities and said South Korea misread the launch site of the North’s latest missile tests on Wednesday, hours before Yoon used a news conference to urge Pyongyang to return to diplomacy. .
“It would have been more favorable to his image to keep his mouth shut, rather than spouting nonsense, since he had nothing better to say,” he said of Yoon.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, expressed “great regret” over Kim Yo Jong’s comments, and Yoon’s office called on Pyongyang to show “self-restraint” and “ponder deeply” over the offer. from Seoul.
“This attitude of North Korea will not only threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula, but also bring more difficulties to the North by worsening its international isolation and economic situation,” said Lee Hyo-jung, spokesman for the Unification Ministry, during a briefing.
Kim Yo Jong had last week threatened “deadly” retaliation against South Korea over the North’s COVID-19 outbreak, which he dubiously claims was caused by leaflets and other balloon-launched objects by South activists.
During a nationally televised speech on Monday, Yoon proposed a “bold” economic assistance package to North Korea if it takes steps to abandon its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. The large-scale aid offers in food and medical care and the modernization of electricity generation systems and seaports and airports were not significantly different from previous South Korean proposals rejected by the North, which is accelerating development. of an arsenal that Kim Jong Un sees as his own. greater guarantee of survival.
Kim Yo Jong, one of the most powerful officials in his brother’s government who oversees inter-Korean affairs, said Yoon showed the “height of absurdity” with his offer, saying it was as realistic as creating “mulberry fields in the blue ocean.” Dark”.
He said South Korea’s words and actions would only incite “growing hatred and anger” from the North Koreans and insisted Pyongyang has no immediate plans to revive long-stalled diplomacy with Seoul. “It is our sincere wish to live without awareness of others,” he said.
Inter-Korean ties have worsened amid a deadlock in broader North Korea-US nuclear talks that derailed in 2019 over disagreements over an easing of crippling US-led sanctions against the North in return. of disarmament measures.
There are concerns that Kim Yo Jong’s threats last week over the leaflets herald a provocation, the possibilities of which may include a missile or nuclear test or even border skirmishes. The United States and South Korea begin their biggest combined training in years next week to counter the threat from North Korea. North Korea describes these drills as invasion drills and has often responded with missile tests or other provocations.
During Wednesday’s press conference, Yoon expressed his hope for a meaningful dialogue with North Korea on its disarmament aid proposal. Keeping a reserved tone, Yoon said his government has no plans to pursue its own nuclear deterrent and does not want political change in Pyongyang to be brought about by force.
Yoon spoke hours after the South Korean military detected North Korea firing two suspected cruise missiles into the sea and identified the western coastal site of Onchon as the launch site. Kim Yo Jong in his column said the weapons were fired from a bridge in Anju city, north of Onchon and further inland, and ridiculed the capabilities of South Korea and the United States to monitor missile activity. from North Korea. The Southern military has not yet released the analyzed flight details of those missiles.
“If the data and the flight path (of the missiles) are known, (the South) will be so puzzled and scared,” Kim Yo Jong said. “It will be something to see how they explain it to their people.”
The latest launches extended a record pace in North Korea’s missile tests in 2022, involving more than 30 ballistic launches, including the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile demonstrations in nearly five years.
North Korea’s heightened testing activity underscores its dual intent to upgrade its arsenal and force the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power so it can negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength, experts say.
Kim Jong Un could up the ante as soon as there are signs that North Korea is preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017, when it claimed to have developed a thermonuclear weapon for its intercontinental ballistic missiles.