'First Appearance of North Korea's Kim Yo-jong Criticizing the US: "Considering Increasing Revolutionary Actions"'

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Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un and vice department director, condemned the arrival of the US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in Busan on the 4th, stating that "(the United States) is openly showing its hostile and confrontational intentions" and "strongly condemns it." This is the first time Kim Yo-jong has issued a direct statement in her own name since the launch of the second Trump administration.

Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, reported Kim Yo-jong's statement containing these remarks on the same day. Kim described North Korea's nuclear policy as "formalized as a basic law," asserting that "today's reality further highlights the justification, legitimacy, and necessity of our nuclear force strengthening line." She warned, "We will not just sit idly by and comment on the situation," adding, "We are seriously considering options to increase strategic-level revolutionary actions against the safety rights of hostile countries."

She further cautioned, "The enemies should not attempt to test our will and capability to uphold national sovereignty and security interests by mobilizing all means at their disposal," calling it "a very dangerous act."

This is the second statement issued under Kim Yo-jong's name this year, following one on January 20. However, the January statement concerned North Korea's position on diplomatic relations with Belarus, making this the first direct message toward the United States since the start of the second Trump administration. Until now, North Korea had mainly conveyed anti-US statements through working-level officials such as Foreign Ministry spokespersons, making this the first time a high-ranking official has stepped forward.

Im Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Gyeongnam National University, said, "Kim Yo-jong's appearance suggests that Chairman Kim's initial judgment and evaluation of the Trump administration's second-term North Korea policy have been somewhat finalized." He interpreted it as "a signal of North Korea's ultra-hardline response amid the continued deployment of US strategic assets and the resumption of large-scale South Korea-US joint military exercises since the start of the second Trump administration, and a precursor to heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula." Regarding the "strategic-level revolutionary actions" mentioned in the statement, he analyzed that it "implies the possibility of military actions such as launching upgraded-performance ICBMs capable of threatening the US mainland, SLBM tests, or nuclear tests."

Yang Moo-jin, president of the Graduate School of North Korean Studies, also said, "Issuing Kim Yo-jong's statement in the first week of March indicates a shift from verbal confrontation to action," but added, "It also implies an intention to present preconditions such as the withdrawal of hostile policies and suspension of strategic asset deployments ahead of negotiations, based on the judgment that after the Russia-Ukraine ceasefire, it will be their turn." He further noted, "The fact that President Trump was not directly mentioned reflects a degree of restraint."

In response, the Ministry of National Defense described Kim Yo-jong's statement as "mere sophistry to justify nuclear missile development and build a pretext for provocations," emphasizing that "North Korea's nuclear weapons are absolutely unacceptable, and the only path for North Korea's survival is to abandon its obsession and delusions about nuclear weapons." The ministry added, "Our military is thoroughly prepared for any provocations by North Korea based on a firm combined defense posture, and if North Korea provokes under the pretext of South Korea-US legitimate and defensive military activities, it will be overwhelmingly retaliated against."

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