Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, will attend a ceremony to offer a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam on March 2, 2019. (Pool via Jorge Silva / Reuters)
Seoul — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong decided on Sunday to rebuild relations if South Korea conducts a planned joint military exercise with the United States. State media KCNA report said it would hurt.
Kim Yo-jong also said that the recent decision to restore the hotline between South Korea and South Korea should not be seen as more than reconnecting “physical” ties, and the summit is imminent. He said it was “thoughtless” to assume that he was.
Her comments come as the North and South are discussing to hold a summit as part of their efforts to restore relations. Washington and Seoul will conduct joint military training in late August.
“Our government and the military are watching carefully whether Koreans are going through aggressive war exercises or making big decisions. Hope or despair? It’s not up to us,” said Kim Yo-jong. Said in a statement made by KCNA.
Regular training between Seoul and Washington is a source of long-term hostility on the Korean Peninsula, which North Korea calls aggression rehearsals and responds with missile tests. South Korea and the United States have repeatedly said that their training is inherently defensive.
The two South Koreans, which are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended in a ceasefire, reconnected the hotline that North Korea disconnected in June last year on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report