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Kim Yo Chen PHOTO: Reuters
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Kim Yo-Chen, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned South Korea today not to participate in a joint military exercise with the United States, Reuters reported.
Seoul’s participation in the joint exercise will undermine the two Koreas’ determination to re-establish relations, she was quoted as saying by the North Korean news agency KCTA.
The recent decision to restore direct telephone lines between the governments of the two Koreas should not be interpreted as anything more than the restoration of “physical” ties, Kim Yo-Chen added. It would be “pointless” to think that the summits are very close, she said, quoted by BTA.
Kim Jong Un’s sister made the statement at a time when North and South Korea are negotiating a summit as part of efforts to rebuild relations. Washington and Seoul are scheduled to hold a joint military exercise later this month.
“Our government and army will closely monitor whether the South Koreans will conduct aggressive military exercises or make a big decision. Hope or despair? It is not up to us,” Kim Yo-Chen said in a statement released by the CCTA.
The two Koreas are still legally at war, as the 1950-53 military conflict between them ends only with a truce. On Tuesday, they restored direct telephone lines between their governments, which the North cut off last June.
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