Daniel Wolfram
If Donald Trump thought he could make his relationship with Kim Jong Un stronger by turning his back on South Korea, he was gravely mistaken, according to the notorious dictator’s sister.
Trump recently caused quite a stir when he ordered Pete Hegseth to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea.
The move aimed to soften tensions between the United States and North Korea.
But leaders in Pyongyang were unimpressed.
Trump rebuffed by dictator’s sister
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, dismissed the gesture. As reported by AP, she stated, “We think it’s not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all.” She stressed that smaller drills do not change their hostile purpose.
“The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced,” Kim Yo Jong added.
She noted that earlier war games and Seoul’s nuclear submarine push proved the ongoing threat.
A stormy relationship
Trump himself told reporters that he received a response from Kim Jong Un, while predicting another summit. Asked if he would meet Kim this year, Trump said, “Yeah, I will.”
Kim Yo Jong denied any ongoing messages. The last time Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met was back in 2018, when the two leaders met at the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
The relationship has since gone through high praise and personal attacks between the two world leaders. It seems that Trump has since warmed up to Kim Jong Un.
Squeezing an ally
The decision to scale down the military exercises caught South Korea completely off guard.
Some military experts are claiming that Trump punished South Korea because of its unwillingness to help with the war in Iran.
Trump posted that joint drills sent a signal that was “totally inappropriate and hostile” toward North Korea, revealing he asked the South Korean Prime Minister to join Iran operations, “and they said, ‘No thanks!’”
Experts view the reduction as clear pressure on South Korean leaders. Analyst Yang Uk said, “Trump’s message is that if you don’t cooperate with us on Iran, we’re not cooperating with you” regarding the joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea.
