North Korea's Kim Jong-un, with daughter, calls "South Korea-US-Japan leaders gang boss"

Daughter Juae Accompanies Kim Jong Un on On-Site Guidance at Naval Command
Kim Jong Un Expresses Wariness Over ROK-US-Japan North Korea Nuclear Cooperation
First Mention of "Daehanminguk"... "Full Effort to Complete War Preparations"
Government: "Not a Two-State Theory, Provocation with Mocking Intent"

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un, who appeared with his daughter Juae after 100 days, unleashed harsh remarks targeting the leaders of South Korea, the United States, and Japan, calling them "gangster bosses." Notably, he referred to South Korea as "Daehanminguk" (Republic of Korea) for the first time. This is interpreted as expressing wariness over the recent decision by the South Korea-U.S.-Japan leaders to strengthen security cooperation, including regular joint military exercises, during their first standalone summit at Camp David.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 29th, Kim Jong-un stated at the naval command headquarters, which he visited on the occasion of North Korea's Navy Day the previous day, "Not long ago, the gangster bosses of the United States, Japan, and the 《Daehanminguk》 gathered and announced the regularization of various trilateral joint military exercises and have begun implementing them." It was also revealed that his daughter Juae accompanied him for the first time in three months since May during this on-site guidance.

On the 28th, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Naval Command Headquarters to mark Navy Day.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, the leaders of South Korea, the United States, and Japan adopted a "commitment to trilateral consultations" at their summit on the 18th (local time). They agreed to jointly respond to crises in the Indo-Pacific region, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. While North Korea's state media had previously criticized this trilateral cooperation, this is the first time Kim Jong-un himself has directly addressed it. It is also the first time he has referred to the South as "Daehanminguk."

Kim Jong-un claimed, "Due to the reckless confrontation provocations by hostile forces, the waters around the Korean Peninsula have become the world's largest concentration area for war equipment and the most unstable nuclear war risk zone," and argued, "The current situation demands that our navy devote all efforts to completing war preparations, maintain a constant wartime posture, and be ready to crush the enemy's war will and implement the military strategy of the Supreme Command in case of emergency."

According to the report, after receiving a briefing on operational plans from the naval commander, Kim Jong-un emphasized, "It is the ground task facing the naval forces to evolve into a powerful, independent military branch group that can perfectly fulfill its historic mission of defending territorial waters and preparing for revolutionary war." He is also said to have presented tactical policies aimed at seizing the initiative in war and overwhelmingly defeating the enemy.

On the 28th, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Naval Command with his daughter Juae to commemorate Navy Day.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Including Kim Yo-jong, the Workers' Party vice department director and Kim Jong-un's younger sister, North Korea has been officially referring to South Korea as "Daehanminguk" since last month. However, this is not a complete replacement of the term, as they also use "Namjoson" (South Joseon) interchangeably. Some analysts suggest that North Korea might be abandoning the idea of unification under its leadership and shifting to a "two-state theory," but the South Korean government dismissed this as merely "propaganda and agitation with mocking intent."

An official from the Ministry of Unification analyzed, "It is not a term of respect but of mockery, and just by using one word, it has caused considerable confusion in the South, making it a highly cost-effective form of propaganda and agitation." The official added, "North Korea sees no benefit in inter-Korean relations and is keeping its distance," and "It appears to regard the South as subordinate to the U.S.-North Korea relationship."

Meanwhile, North Korea failed again on the 24th in launching a space launch vehicle claimed to carry a "military reconnaissance satellite." Following the failed attempt in May this year, the re-launch attempt three months later also ended in failure, causing Kim Jong-un to lose face. With the leadership under increased pressure due to the consecutive failures of reconnaissance satellites, which are considered key to completing the nuclear force system, North Korea is expected to attempt a third launch around the Workers' Party Foundation Day in October.

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