North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, has accused South Korea of misleading the public about ties between the Koreas, denying claims that Pyongyang removed some propaganda-blaring loudspeakers from their shared border. In a statement carried by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong blasted the claim by South Korea’s military as an “unfounded unilateral supposition and a red herring”.
“We have never removed loudspeakers installed on the border area and are not willing to remove them,” Kim said, accusing Seoul of “building up the public opinion while embellishing their new policy” towards Pyongyang. She added that such a “trick” is nothing but a “pipedream” and “does not arouse our interest at all”. Kim also expressed disdain for South Korea’s efforts to shift the responsibility for the escalation of tensions onto North Korea and win the support of the world.
Kim’s broadside comes after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday that Pyongyang had removed some of the loudspeakers, days after the South Korean side took down similar speakers on its side of the border. South Korea’s Ministry of Unification did not directly address Kim’s claims but said it would continue its efforts towards the “normalisation” and “stabilisation” of inter-Korean ties.
The tension between North and South Korea comes as Seoul seeks rapprochement with its reclusive neighbour after years of elevated tensions. However, Kim Yo Jong has repeatedly shot down the possibility of reconciliation between the sides. Last month, she dismissed South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s rapprochement efforts, saying there was no “more serious miscalculation” than believing that relations could be repaired “with a few sentimental words”.
Kim also poured scorn on South Korean media reports suggesting that Pyongyang could use a summit between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to communicate with Washington. “This is a typical proof that the ROK is having a false dream,” she said. “If a dream is dreamed very often, it will be an empty one, and so many suppositions will lead to so many contradictions that will not be solved. Why should we send a message to the US side?”
North Korea is highly sensitive to criticism of the Kim family, which has ruled the isolated state with an iron fist for nearly eight decades. The country’s status as a nuclear-armed state is a result of an “inevitable choice” to counter hostile external threats, according to Kim. Any public mention of North Korea’s denuclearization is seen as an attack on its sovereignty.