North Korea, After Ignoring US Contact, Says "Do Not Create Troubles That Disturb Peaceful Sleep"

Kim Yo-jong's Hardline Remarks on North Korea
First Official Position from the North Since Biden Administration Inauguration
U.S. Experts Assess Tone as Milder Than Expected

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] On the 16th, Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the North Korean Workers' Party, directly targeted and threatened the Joe Biden administration, drawing attention from U.S. media and experts. Since her remarks came after rejecting the Biden administration's proposal for dialogue, there are forecasts that improving North Korea-U.S. relations will not be easy going forward, although some assessments suggest the tone was less severe than initially feared.

Kim Yo-jong's warning to the U.S. was contained at the end of her statement. She pressured the U.S. side by saying, "If your wish is to sleep soundly for four years, it would be better not to create sleepless troubles from the start." The U.S. interpreted this passage as a warning of a possible missile launch provocation during early morning hours in the U.S.

◇ North Korea breaks silence, hints at missile launch? = It is notable that North Korea, which had maintained silence since the Biden administration took office, sent a direct warning message to the U.S. at the highest level.

Since January, when Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the North Korean Workers' Party, stated in the report on the 8th Party Congress business summary before Biden's inauguration that "The key to establishing a new North Korea-U.S. relationship lies in the U.S. withdrawing its hostile policy toward North Korea. We will deal with the U.S. on the principle of strength for strength, and preemptive measures for preemptive measures," North Korea had not mentioned the U.S. CNN also noted that this statement came after the White House said North Korea had not responded to contact attempts and emphasized diplomacy as a priority.

The U.S. side has attempted behind-the-scenes contact with North Korea since the Biden administration took office, but North Korea has ignored these efforts. On this day, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged the failure to establish contact with North Korea before Kim Yo-jong's statement and emphasized that diplomacy remains the top priority.

At a regular briefing on the 15th (local time), Psaki responded to reports that the Biden administration had tried to reach out to North Korea but received no reply, saying, "As we have always said, we clearly have many channels (for North Korea-U.S. communication), but so far we have received no response." U.S. officials admitted that since mid-last month, they have attempted contact with North Korea through various channels, including New York (North Korea's UN mission).

Psaki said, "The U.S. has made multiple engagement attempts, but it has been over a year without active dialogue with North Korea. Diplomacy remains the highest priority."

◇ "Tone lower than expected," some opinions = Anthony Ruggiero, Senior Researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), explained Kim Yo-jong's statement as "North Korea sending a warning to maintain the status quo."

Andrea Mahilescu, Senior Researcher at the Atlantic Council, said, "Kim Yo-jong's remarks seem to signal that North Korea will continue the suspension of missile tests promised at the North Korea-U.S. summit," and predicted, "North Korea will probably quietly continue nuclear development throughout the Biden administration."

There are also assessments that the statement's tone is not as severe as feared. Ankit Panda, Senior Researcher at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), evaluated that considering Kim Yo-jong's usual role as the antagonist, the tone was low and the warning cautious.

Earlier, Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), had predicted the possibility of North Korean provocations ahead of this week's visits to South Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Eric Gomez, Director at the Cato Institute, placed more emphasis on the warning to South Korea rather than the U.S. Gomez stated, "The warning about the termination of the inter-Korean military agreement is concerning because it could destroy the starting point for improving inter-Korean relations."

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department did not respond to Asia Economy's inquiry regarding its position on Kim Yo-jong's statement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.