Backlash Against US-ROK Washington Declaration Warning of 'End of Regime'
Harsh Criticism of Both Leaders... Yoon Called a "Foolish Person"
"Facing a Strong Reality... Increasing Our Right to Self-Defense"
Kim Yo-jong, the deputy director of the North Korean Workers' Party and younger sister of Kim Jong-un, fiercely criticized the adoption of the 'Washington Declaration' by the South Korea-US leaders, which warned of the 'end of the regime' in the event of nuclear weapon use. Targeting US President Joe Biden, she called it "the reckless remarks of an old man with no future," while toward President Yoon Suk-yeol, she argued he was a "foolish person who is grateful for receiving an empty shell declaration."
On the 29th, Kim Yo-jong issued a statement through the Korean Central News Agency, defining the 'Washington Declaration' as "a concentrated product of the most hostile and aggressive intentions of anti-DPRK (North Korea) hostile policy." She added that it "will result in exposing the peace and security of the Northeast Asia region and the world to more severe risks and is truly an act that cannot be welcomed."
Furthermore, mentioning the establishment of the 'Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG)' and the deployment of strategic assets included in the Washington Declaration, she claimed, "The military and political situation can no longer escape an unstable flow, providing us with an environment to undertake corresponding and more decisive actions." Although the cause of tension on the Korean Peninsula is North Korea's focus on nuclear development, she shifted responsibility onto the South Korea-US extended deterrence discussions.
Kim Yo-jong then directly criticized the South Korea-US leaders with harsh language. She said, "Another intolerable fact is that the head of the enemy state openly used the expression 'end of the regime' in front of the whole world," and "Regarding the safety and future of the United States, it can be called the reckless remarks of an old man with no future who cannot be responsible at all."
President Biden warned in a press conference immediately after the South Korea-US summit that "if North Korea carries out a nuclear attack, it will bring about the end of the regime." Kim Yo-jong responded by saying it was "too irresponsibly brave," and "the fact that this expression was directly used by the president of the most hostile enemy, the United States, is a rhetorical threat that must prepare for tremendous aftershocks," expressing indignation.
Kim Yo-jong also targeted President Yoon, saying, "That foolish person who is grateful for receiving an empty shell declaration as a 'consideration' from the United States," and criticized, "Yoon Suk-yeol has put security on the chopping block with his incompetence, so we will watch how far he dares to go."
She then warned, "The delusions of the United States and South Korea will face the reality of even stronger power," and "The more the enemies rage in nuclear war exercises and deploy more nuclear strategic assets in the Korean Peninsula region, the more our exercise of the right to self-defense will increase proportionally."
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