SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - SEOUL — Kim Yo-jong, a senior North Korean official and sister of leader Kim Jong-un, warned that upcoming joint military exercises involving the United States, South Korea and Japan would bring "bad results" for those countries, calling them a reckless show of force in the wrong place.
Her statement, released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on September 14, criticized two drills set to begin next week. The first, Iron Mace, is a U.S.–South Korea combined nuclear and conventional integration tabletop exercise scheduled for September 15 to 19.
The second, Freedom Edge, is a trilateral multi-domain exercise that will involve U.S., South Korean and Japanese forces operating on and around the Korean Peninsula.
"We have already cautioned that the 'Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula' fabricated by the U.S. and South Korea are indeed a dangerous idea," Kim said. "If the current rulers sympathize with this dangerous idea cooked up by their predecessors and put it into practice, we will regard it as an unfiltered demonstration of their anti-DPRK confrontational stand and a succession of confrontational policy."
She added, "I remind the U.S., Japan and South Korea that the reckless show of strength made by them in real action in the vicinity of the DPRK, which is the wrong place, will inevitably bring bad results to themselves."
Her comments suggested frustration that the Lee Jae Myung administration in South Korea and U.S. President Donald Trump have spoken about dialogue with Pyongyang while continuing exercises the North has long condemned as invasion rehearsals. Kim did not mention either leader by name, but her reference to "current rulers" made clear her displeasure.
On the same day, Park Jong-chon, vice chairman of North Korea's Central Military Commission, issued a separate statement calling the drills a "nuclear war rehearsal" and "the most comprehensive and aggressive invasion war drill."
He argued that the situation proves North Korea must continue to build its strategic strength. "The United States and its followers should not test our patience and must stop dangerous games that aggravate regional tensions and undermine security," Park said. "If these shows of force continue, our countermeasures will also be expressed more clearly and at a higher intensity."
Both statements were distributed only through KCNA, which primarily addresses foreign audiences, and were not carried in Rodong Sinmun, the Workers' Party newspaper aimed at North Korea's domestic readers.
The language reflects Pyongyang's long-standing pattern of denouncing joint military drills. Past exercises such as Ulchi Freedom Shield and the now-defunct Team Spirit drew similar reactions, with North Korea portraying them as rehearsals for invasion (source: U.S. Department of Defense archives).
Iron Mace was introduced in 2023 after Washington and Seoul agreed to strengthen nuclear deterrence, while Freedom Edge was first conducted earlier this year to expand trilateral coordination across air, sea, space and cyber domains (source: South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense).
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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