MOSCOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister and deputy director of one of the departments of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, Kim Yo Jong, on Thursday criticised Seoul for its push to impose new sanctions against Pyongyang and called the South Korean leadership “idiots” who continue creating a “dangerous situation” under pressure from Washington.
On Tuesday, South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said that Seoul was closely consulting with Washington and Tokyo to boost the effectiveness of possible unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang’s cyberactivities if the North conducts a seventh nuclear test.
“If they think that they can escape from the present dangerous situation through ‘sanctions’, they must be real idiots as they do not know how to live in peace and comfort. I wonder why the South Korean people still remain passive onlookers to such acts of the ‘government’ of (South Korean President) Yoon Suk Yeol and other idiots who continue creating the dangerous situation. Anyhow, Seoul had not been our target at least when (former South Korean leader) Moon Jae In was in power,“ Sputnik reported Kim as saying in a statement, as quoted by the North Korean state-run news agency KCNA.
The politician warned Seoul that “the desperate sanctions and pressure of the US and its South Korean stooges against North Korea will add fuel to the latter’s hostility and anger and they will serve as a noose for them”, as quoted by the news agency.
The South Korean unification ministry expressed regret on Thursday over Kim’s statement and condemned the North’s attempt to destabilise the South Korean system and “incite anti-government struggles” in the country.
“We consider it very deplorable that Vice Director Kim Yo-jong criticised the leader of our country today using vulgar language without showing even the most basic level of decency,“ the ministry said in a press release, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency. “We also strongly condemn the (North’s) impure attempt to incite anti-government struggles among our people and to destabilise our system... not a single person in our country will fall for such an attempt.”
North Korea has launched dozens of missiles toward South Korea since the start of 2022, including an intercontinental ballistic missile last week. The South Korean president ordered the preparation of new deterrence measures against North Korea and “a strengthening of security cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan.” Pyongyang said its military-related activities came in response to provocations by Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo. - Bernama
