Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un, speaks during a party meeting held in Pyongyang, in this photo capatured from North Korean Central Television, Aug. 11, 2022. Newsis
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un lambasted the recent joint air drills staged by South Korea, the United States and Japan, claiming they validate her country's policy of bolstering its nuclear forces, the North's state media said Tuesday.
Involving a U.S. B-1B bomber and fighter jets, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan conducted joint air drills Sunday over waters east of South Korea's Jeju Island in response to North Korea's test-firing of the new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile last week.
Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Workers' Party's Central Committee, denounced the drills as having "the most hostile and dangerous aggressive nature," in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
She said the drills were "another absolute proof of the validity and urgency of the line of building up the nuclear forces."
This year, U.S strategic bombers have visited the Korean Peninsula on four occasions in a show of force against North Korean threats, while two rounds of joint air drills involving South Korea, the U.S. and Japan have taken place.
Additionally, the three nations held the inaugural session of the trilateral multidomian military exercise "Freedom Edge" in June to enhance deterrence against North Korean threats.
"The drastically increased number of war rehearsals like Freedom Edge ... posed a serious threat to not only our state but also regional peace and security," Kim claimed.
"The ever-escalating hysteric military threats of the rivals will further highlight the justness and urgency of our line, and it will be implemented in corresponding dynamic and intensity," she said, calling her country's nuclear buildup the "most correct choice." (Yonhap)
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