President Donald Trump.
North Korea said Wednesday that a US decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea does not change what it sees as the provocative nature of the drills, dampening hopes for an early resumption of diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S.
“The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.
“We think it’s not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. “Trump’s message is that if you don’t cooperate with us on Iran, we’re not cooperating with you” on the drills either, said Yang Uk, an analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “It’s like he’s asking South Korea to show it’s helping him over Iran” by taking steps like sending warships or reinforcing missile defenses in some areas.
Kim Yo Jong denied that there are any communications between Trump and Kim. Kim Yo Jong’s statement did not contain North Korea’s typically harsh rhetoric. This suggests North Korea may be trying to manage relations with Trump, while seeking bigger concessions to restart talks. But in her Wednesday statement, Kim Yo Jong flatly denied that, calling it “an ungrounded farce.
South Korea’s intelligence service estimated last year that North Korea sent about 15,000 troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Earlier this week, pressed by reporters on whether he had a conversation with Kim Jong Un, Trump said that Kim had responded to his request for a conversation. She briefly said relations between her brother and Trump are “still excellent,” mentioning her brother’s past comments that he still has “good memories” of Trump. When asked by reporters Wednesday if he will meet with Kim Jong Un this year, Trump said that “Yeah, I will be. He wouldn’t answer a question about whether he is exchanging letters with Kim but said he gets along with him. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said North Korea was preparing to send more troops to Russia. At separate parliamentary hearings Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said neither South Korean nor U.S. officials were informed of Trump’s move before his social media post. Cho said the alliance remains strong, while Ahn said South Korean and U.S. defense officials were maintaining close consultations.
