After Joint Drills, Kim's Sis Warns of 'Terrible Consequences'

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday criticized the United States and South Korea for proceeding with their annual joint military exercises at a perilous moment for global security, warning that any challenge to the North's safety would bring "terrible consequences." The statement by Kim Yo Jong came a day after the allies started their 11-day "Freedom Shield" exercise involving thousands of troops, while Washington participates in an escalating war in the Middle East, per the AP. Without directly referring to the Iran war, Kim said the US-South Korea drills undermine regional stability at a time when the global security structure is "collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues."

Freedom Shield is one of two annual command post exercises conducted by the militaries of the US and South Korea. The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies' joint operational capabilities, while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. Mentioning the country's expanding nuclear program, Kim Yo Jong said that North Korea will continue to bolster its "destructive power" against what it sees as external threats and "constantly and repeatedly convince the enemies of our war deterrence and its fatality."

North Korea has long portrayed the allies' joint drills as invasion rehearsals and often used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations or weapons tests. The allies say the exercises are defensive in nature. Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung acknowledged that some US "air defense weapons" based in South Korea could be relocated, but he said that such moves wouldn't seriously undermine defenses against North Korea. His comments followed media speculation that the US was moving some Patriot missile defense systems and other equipment from South Korea to support operations in the Middle East. "Our government has expressed opposition to such moves, but it's also an undeniable reality that we cannot fully control the situation according to our wishes," Lee said at a Cabinet meeting.