SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has derided South Korea’s conservative president for being “foolishly brave” but called his liberal predecessor “smart” — rhetoric likely meant to help stoke domestic divisions in South Korea.
Her statement Tuesday came as a response to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s New Year’s Day address, in which he said he would bolster South Korea’s military capability and enhance its alliance with the U.S. to cope with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.
Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has made such comments numerous times. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, used Yoon’s latest remarks as an opportunity to fire off derisive rhetoric against him.
“Since his inauguration he’s been clamoring for the strengthening of the South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence and focusing on their joint military drills, bringing the fate of South Korea to the brink,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. She said that Yoon’s “ability to think and reason are questionable.”
Kim Yo Jong said that Yoon’s “foolishly brave” stance and “fanatical military confrontation posture” have given North Korea a golden opportunity to beef up its military programs. She said Yoon’s New Year’s Day speech once again provided North Korea with a reason and a justification to obtain ”more overwhelming nuclear capability.”
Later she compared Yoon with his liberal predecessor Moon Jae-in, calling the former South Korean president “smart” and “cunning.”
She said that Moon’s appeasement policy left North Korea wasting time and failing to press forward with its arms build-up programs. She said Moon solicited North Korea to halt missile and nuclear tests while beefing up South Korea’s own national security by procuring advanced U.S. fighter jets and winning U.S. consent in acquiring more powerful missiles.
Her praise of Moon lacks sincerity, because she and her government have…
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