Kim Yo-jong slams NK policy

[Anchor]

North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, has belittled our North Korea policy as a deceptive appeasement offensive, reiterating that they will not respond.

She also stated that President Lee Jae Myung is not a figure who will change the course of history.

Our presidential office expressed regret.

Reporter Jang Hyuk Jin has the details.

[Report]

Following his Liberation Day speech, President Lee Jae Myung emphasized building trust between the two Koreas and resuming dialogue at the Cabinet meeting.

[President Lee Jae Myung: "If small actions pile up like pebbles, mutual trust will be restored, and the path to peace will widen, allowing the two Koreas to grow together..."]

Deputy Director Kim Yo Jong directly targeted President Lee's remarks during a meeting where she conveyed Chairman Kim Jong Un's foreign policy plans to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She described his words as "the words of a wandering poet," calling them 'delusions and daydreams,' and stated that after observing South Korea for decades, whether 'conservative' or 'democratic,' the ambition for confrontation with them has been passed down.

She then mentioned President Lee by name, evaluating him as not a figure who will change the course of history.

She characterized the government's reconciliation messages toward North Korea released around Liberation Day as 'deceptive' and 'performative,' clearly expressing a direct refusal.

She also stated, "South Korea is not a diplomatic counterpart of our country," indicating once again that there is 'no need to engage' not only in terms of ethnic relations but also as nation to nation.

[Choi Yong Hwan/Research Fellow, Institute for National Security Strategy: "From North Korea's perspective, highlighting the achievements of the North-Russia relationship is a much more important task, and there seems to be a thought about what can be gained from dialogue with the South at this point."]

She repeatedly pressured for the suspension of the joint military exercises, claiming that the U.S. and South Korea are conducting 'invasion war drills.'

In particular, she mentioned 'Operation Plan 5022,' which is said to contain plans to neutralize North Korea's nuclear attack capabilities early, analyzing that this indicates a demand for not only the suspension of training but also the complete abandonment of specific operations.

The presidential office expressed regret over the distortion of sincere efforts, emphasizing that "we will surely open a new era of peaceful coexistence."

This is KBS News, Jang Hyuk Jin.