SEOUL • Ms Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has said that if South Korea carries out a planned joint military exercise with the United States it will damage the resolve of the two Koreas to rebuild relations, state media KCNA reported.
She also said on Sunday that a recent decision to restore hotlines between the two Koreas should not be seen as anything more than reconnecting "physical" ties, and it would be "thoughtless" to assume summits are around the corner.
Her comments come at a time when the two Koreas are in talks to hold a summit as part of efforts to restore relations. The US and South Korea are due to hold a joint military drill later this month.
"Our government and military will keep a close eye on whether the South Koreans go ahead with the aggressive war exercises, or make a big decision. Hope or despair? That's not up to us," Ms Kim said in a statement carried by KCNA.
The two Koreas, still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice and not a peace treaty, last Tuesday reconnected hotlines that the North severed in June last year.
South Korea yesterday said no decision has been made on its joint military exercises with the United States but they should not create tension, after Pyongyang warned Seoul against holding the exercises amid signs of a thaw in relations.
South Korea and the US regularly stage military exercises, mainly in the spring and summer, but North Korea has long responded with scathing criticism, calling them a rehearsal for war.
The South's Defence Ministry said that Seoul and Washington were in talks over the drills but no decision has been made.
"We have nothing to comment on her statement, but regarding the exercises, the timing and method were not finalised," ministry spokesman Boo Seung-chan told a briefing.
The allies will decide after considering Covid-19, joint defence posture, planned transfer of wartime operational control, and the issue of "supporting diplomatic efforts for establishing lasting peace on the Korean peninsula".
Ms Lee Jong-joo, spokesman for the Unification Ministry which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the exercises should not be a "source of military tension in any case", without elaborating.
The exercises have been scaled back in recent years to facilitate talks between North Korea and the administration of former US president Donald Trump aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes in return for US sanctions relief.
However, the negotiations have stalled, following a failed second summit in 2019 between Mr Kim and Mr Trump.
The coronavirus pandemic also had an impact on the drills, with the allies focusing instead on computerised simulations and minimising live field training, without mobilising US-based troops.
A high-level Unification Ministry official said last Friday that the exercises should be postponed to help restart nuclear talks, but Ms Lee declined to comment when asked if the ministry plans to make a formal recommendation.
Ms Lee said the South last week proposed setting up a video conference system to expedite inter-Korean dialogue, and also approved plans by two civilian relief groups to send humanitarian aid to the North.
REUTERS
