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North Korean leader's sister blasts allied exercises as 'show of strength in the wrong place'

Published: 14 Sep. 2025, 18:10

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attends a reception in the Great Hall of People following a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II in Beijing on Sept. 3. [AFP/YONHAP]

North Korea has intensified its criticism of allied military exercises set to begin Monday in South Korea, denouncing the U.S.-South Korea Combined Nuclear and Conventional Integration (CNI) tabletop drill and the U.S.-Korea-Japan multidomain exercise as a "show of strength in the wrong place."

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) called the drills “dangerous nuclear war exercises devised by former leaders” in Saturday's commentary.

“I remind them that the show of strength in the wrong place will inevitably bring bad results to themselves,” said Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and deputy department director of the Workers’ Party of Korea, in a statement released through KCNA on Sunday.

She also warned that Washington and Seoul’s "guidelines for nuclear deterrence and nuclear operations on the Korean Peninsula were a dangerous scheme."

"If the present rulers have sympathized with the dangerous 'idea' cooked up by the former rulers and put it into practice with full consideration given to it, we will regard it as an unfiltered 'demonstration' of their anti-DPRK confrontational stand and 'succession' of confrontational policy," she said.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which is the official name of North Korea.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul and U.S. Forces Korea plan to carry out the CNI tabletop exercise at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, from Monday to Friday. It will be the third such drill since August 2024 and the first under the Lee Jae Myung administration.

A helicopter maneuvers at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi on Aug. 12. [NEWS1]

CNI refers to the integration of South Korea’s conventional capabilities with potential U.S. nuclear assets to deter and respond to North Korea’s nuclear threats. A tabletop exercise (TTX) is a simulated discussion-based drill in which commanders develop response scenarios for potential provocations.

The two allies have conducted the CNI TTX since late 2024 under the nuclear consultative group agreement, which called for new guidelines on nuclear deterrence. The exercise covers joint planning procedures for deploying U.S. nuclear assets with South Korea’s conventional support and measures to strengthen extended deterrence against Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear threats.

Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party and the regime’s top-ranking military official, also issued a statement on Sunday, condemning the allied exercises as “an undisguised nuclear war rehearsal aimed at using nuclear weapons against the DPRK from A to Z."

The three allies will also conduct the Freedom Edge multidomain exercise in international waters southeast of Jeju from Monday to Friday. The drills are designed to enhance interoperability across the sea, air and cyber domains.

The JCS said on Sept. 5 that the exercise is designed to “bolster trilateral cooperation by strengthening operational capabilities across multiple domains and by enhancing interoperability, while observing international laws and norms.”

A helicopter maneuvers at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi on Aug. 12. [NEWS1]

"The drills are annual and intended to respond to North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats while preserving regional peace and stability," the JCS said.

Freedom Edge was first held in June 2024 south of Jeju, where the three countries carried out missile defense, air defense, anti-submarine training, search and rescue, maritime interdiction and cyber defense drills.

KCNA, however, warned in a commentary on Saturday titled "Destruction of balance of power on Korean Peninsula and in region will never be allowed."

"The Freedom Edge and Iron Mace are the products of the Camp David confab in 2023 and the 'nuclear operation guidelines' of last year, as well as the dangerous nuclear war exercises devised by former heads of the three countries," the commentary read. "However, the obsolete policy legacy of triangular military cooperation is invariably inherited even though the rulers have been replaced."

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]