North Korean leader's sister Kim Jong Un says South Korea cannot be diplomatic partner of her country
North Korea has criticized what it called South Korea’s "deceptive appeasement offensive,” state-run media reported on Wednesday.
Speaking at a meeting with senior officials of the Foreign Ministry, North Korean leader’s powerful sister Kim Jong Un said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is talking about improving relations but it is "impossible," according to the Korean Central News Agency.
"We must pay attention to the fact that, while pretending to extend a hand of reconciliation, the joint military exercises that have been held again are under review to ‘eliminate’ our nuclear and missile capabilities at an early stage and expand attacks into the territory of the Republic," she said.
Kim was referring to the 11-day annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise by South Korea and US that began on Monday.
The large-scale exercise is being held alongside a four-day civil defense exercise that runs through Thursday, mobilizing about 580,000 civilians.
An anti-air raid civil defense drill will be conducted nationwide on Wednesday as part of the civil defense drills.
She said that South Korea “cannot be a diplomatic partner,” adding that Seoul would not be granted any role in shaping the region’s future diplomacy.
A day earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also slammed joint military drills between the US and South Korea, saying they show their will to "ignite a war.”
On Monday, President Lee said that the country under his leadership will respect North Korea's current system and will not pursue any form of unification by "absorption."
South Korea will take "proactive, gradual steps" to restore the 2018 military agreement, which was signed between the two sides to reduce border tensions, he added.
