The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed concern about the US-South Korean rapprochement on defense cooperation, warning that it would lead to even greater danger. He also referred to Joe Biden as an “old man with no future.” During the meeting in Washington between Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, both leaders warned North Korea that it would face a nuclear response and the “end” of its regime if it used its military arsenal. Kim Jong-un’s sister asserted that North Korea would continue to improve its nuclear deterrence strategy and that nuclear war exercises and nuclear assets deployed on the Korean Peninsula would strengthen its right to self-defense. He also indicated that the US-South Korean cooperation plan would only increase the danger to peace and security in the region.
North Korea has defied international sanctions for years and continues to develop its nuclear and weapons programs. It has warned on several occasions that it will not give up its arsenal. In response, the United States and South Korea have increased their defense cooperation, conducting joint military exercises with modern stealth fighters and high-end strategic material.
The statement by Kim Jong-un’s sister has been condemned by Seoul, which called it “nonsensical.” According to South Korea’s Unification Ministry, it reflects nervousness and frustration with the Korea-US alliance’s enhanced nuclear deterrence. Kim’s sister’s statements indicate that military tensions around the Korean peninsula could rise sharply to a level similar to that of 2017. Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute’s Center for North Korea Studies said the remarks also represent Pyongyang’s harsh protest to Biden’s statements that the North would face the end of the regime if it carried out a nuclear strike.