Kim Yo-jong mocks Seoul over Trump-ordered scale-back of joint military drills

"Seoul has been placed in a pitiful position where it must abandon its favorite 'war games' due to a single remark from Trump, who suddenly ordered a reduction in exercises," Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in an excoriating statement aimed at South Korea on Thursday night. 

Kim described the joint exercises between the United States and South Korea as “an empty shell of half-baked drills whose body was abruptly cut off as soon as they began without any prior discussion,” adding that it was likely “an unprecedented ‘upheaval.’” 

“It is the fate of a puppet military that has entrusted its command authority to its master that it cannot utter a word of protest even when U.S. troops tuck their tails and retreat under a unilateral order from the U.S. commander in chief without any coordination between the two sides,” Kim said. 

The statement was not without a direct criticism of President Lee Jae Myung.

“Lee Jae Myung’s two-faced words and actions clearly expose [South] Korea’s anxious and contradictory mentality — flattering Trump to his face with embarrassing remarks about paying ‘tribute’ to his ‘decision to scale back the exercises’ and calling it ‘a major decision made after deep deliberation,’ only to turn around and talk about ‘self-reliant national defense’ and ‘securing independent military capabilities’ in preparation for the ‘worst-case scenario,’” Kim said. 

The North Korean leader's sister also dismissed the South Korean government’s assessment that the reduction in the exercises could provide an opportunity for a shift in inter-Korean relations. 

“Seoul’s rulers are trying to change the subject by calling it an ‘opportunity to transition to a new phase’ or a ‘new starting point that could bring changes in relations’ in an attempt to cover up their embarrassing predicament after being disregarded by their master, but anyone can see that these are nothing more than feeble excuses,” Kim stated. 

“The world is witnessing the reality that U.S. security support is no longer free,” she added. “To curry favor with their heartless master, even offering up the entire country would probably not be enough.” 

“Perhaps they should instead use this opportunity to properly learn just how thoroughly subordinate their position is and find an answer for their survival,” Kim remarked. “It is about time they realized for themselves their inescapable fate as a ‘puppet.'"

BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]