North Korea Threatens Week-Old Detente Over U.S.-Led Exercises
- Drills ‘seriously undermine’ relations, Kim’s sister warns
- Remarks raise doubts about diplomatic breakthrough with regime
Kim Yo Jong
Photographer: Jorge Silva/Reuters/Bloomberg
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Kim Jong Un’s sister warned that upcoming U.S.-South Korea military drills could jeopardize talks with Seoul, raising doubts about a diplomatic breakthrough less than a week after both sides announced a resumption of communications.
Kim Yo Jong said Sunday the plan to hold annual allied exercises this month “seriously undermines” efforts to restore ties, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement by Kim Jong Un’s sister, one of the prominent faces of Pyongyang’s pressure campaign against Seoul and Washington, reinforces worries North Korea would use South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s desire for talks to try to force him to break with the U.S.