Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has criticised ongoing military exercises between United States and South Korea, describing them as provocative actions that could destabilise the region.
In a statement reported by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim said the joint drills demonstrate what she called the allies’ “habitual hostile policy” toward North Korea.
The annual Freedom Shield drills began this week and involve more than 18,000 troops from both countries. The exercises are scheduled to run from March 9 to March 19.
According to Kim, the operations are being conducted across land, sea, air, cyberspace and outer space, and amount to what she described as a “provocative and aggressive war rehearsal.”
She warned that the demonstrations of military power could lead to “terrible consequences that are unimaginable,” arguing that in modern conflicts there is little distinction between defensive drills and actual combat preparations.
However, officials from the United States and South Korea have rejected those claims, insisting the exercises are purely defensive and designed to strengthen readiness against potential threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.
Military authorities from both countries also say the drills will support preparations for the eventual transfer of wartime operational control from U.S. forces to Seoul.
South Korea aims to complete the handover before the end of President Lee Jae Myung’s term in 2030.
Analysts say the exercises come at a sensitive time for Pyongyang as it closely watches global conflicts, including the war involving Iran, Israel, and the United States.
According to Lim Eul-chul, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University, Pyongyang may see recent leadership-targeting military operations abroad as reinforcing the importance of maintaining its nuclear arsenal.
He said Kim Yo Jong’s remarks suggest North Korea views nuclear weapons as its most reliable deterrent and is determined not to face what it perceives as the fate of countries that lack such capabilities.
The criticism follows a Workers’ Party congress held in February, where Kim Jong Un reportedly vowed to continue expanding North Korea’s nuclear programme.
