Kim Jong Un's Sister Issues Biting First Statement

Kim Yo Jong's words are for South Korea
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 3, 2020 2:12 PM CST
Kim Jong Un's Sister Makes First Statement, and It's Harsh
In this March 2, 2019, file photo, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam.   (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File)

It's the first statement she has ever issued, and it's harsh. Kim Yo Jong is both Kim Jong Un's sister and a close aide, and she didn't hold back in her Tuesday statement directed at South Korea, which had the day prior chided the North for testing weapons. "As far as I know, the South side is also fond of joint military exercises and it is preoccupied with all the disgusting acts like purchasing ultra-modern military hardware," she said, referencing the presidential Blue House as a "frightened barking dog" and "a burnt child dreading fire." The New York Times quotes her as writing, "Such incoherent assertion and actions made by [the Blue House] only magnify our distrust, hatred, and scorn for the South side as a whole." South Korean President Moon Jae-in wasn't mentioned by name.

The AFP reports South Korea said the North appeared to have on Monday fired two short-range ballistic missiles, which UN Security Council resolutions prohibit it from testing, in a test preceded by a three-month lull. An analyst with South Korea's Sejong Institute tells the AP Kim Yo Jong's statement on the matter signifies a move forward for her, as it "suggests that her status and influence have been expanded to such an extent as to express her opinions externally and beyond playing a role of assisting Chairman Kim Jong Un on his public activities." (Here's some of what we know about Kim's sister.)

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