Altos funcionários norte-coreanos ameaçam Estados Unidos e Coreia do Sul por causa de exercícios militares

Kim Yong Chol in 2019. Predefinição:Image

Kim Yo Jong in 2018. Predefinição:Image

Following the description of the United States - South Korea joint military drills as "defensive" by US authorities, senior officials Kim Yong Chol and Kim Yo Jong both issued threatening press statements on August 10.

The military drills, which are held by the US Army and the ROK Army are a measure undertaken by both governments to prepare in case of a possible confrontation between North and South. In the past, the North's regime has showed its displeasment with said drills, issuing press statements and in some cases demonstrating missile strength.

General Kim Yong Chol, Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said in his statement that confrontation was inevitable, specifying that "as south Korea and the United States have invariably chosen confrontation with our state, it is clear that we [North Korea] cannot make another choice, either."

Kim Yo Jong, sister of current leader Kim Jong Un and Vice-Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said that no peace could be achieved on the Korean peninsula as long as US military troops and hardware was present on South Korean territory, calling for said military presence to be withdrawn, saying that "As long as the U.S. forces stay in south Korea, the root cause for the periodic aggravation of the situation on the Korean peninsula will never vanish." Further in the statement, Kim said that "only substantial deterrent, not words, can ensure the peace and security of the Korean peninsula."

This may refer to the North's radio silence on inter-Korean communication channels, with no response on the telephone lines between the South and the North, on which scheduled calls were held every day at 9 AM and 5 PM.

North Korea had reopened the hotline after a hiatus of 14 months, with the regime expressing their interest in re-establishing the ties between both nations. Communications had been interrupted last June, which was followed by the total destruction of the Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong.

North Korea is currently dealing with major internal issues, as grave flooding has struck multiple regions of the country, flooding over one thousand homes and displacing around five thousand people.

Related news

• Predefinição:Wikinews

Sources

• Kim Yong Chol, Department Director of CC, WPK, gives statement to media Voice of Korea (Radio Pyongyang) August 11, 2021
• Kim Yo Jong, Vice-department Director of WPK Central Committee, Issues Press Statement Rodong Sinmun August 11, 2021
• Arirang News S. Korea, U.S. will "feel security crisis every minute" due to drills: Senior N. Korean official YouTube August 11, 2021
• Lee Jeong Ho North Korea Threatens ‘Crisis’ Over U.S.-South Korea Exercises Bloomberg News August 10, 2021
• North Korea: Kim Jong-un calls for relief in flood-hit areas BBC News August 8, 2021
• Choe Sang Hun North and South Korea Reopen Communication Hotlines After a Tense 14 Months The New York Times July 27, 2021