"Reduction of Drills Not Worth Evaluating... Unaware of Communication Between Leaders"

[Anchor]

Following the sharp reduction of South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises under President Trump's directive, North Korea has just released its official response. Kim Yo-jong, Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, dismissed the scale-down of the drills, stating that she has no interest in it, and brushed off remarks about communication between the North Korean and U.S. leaders by saying she knows nothing about it.

Reporter Choi Jae-yeong has the details.

[Reporter]

Kim Yo-jong, Department Director of the Workers' Party, released a statement last night (August 19) titled "Stances on Major International Issues" through the Korean Central News Agency.

First, regarding the reduction of the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises carried out under U.S. President Trump's instructions, Kim stated, "We see no worth in evaluating it and feel no interest in it whatsoever."

She added, "Even if the scale or duration of the drills is reduced, the provocative and aggressive nature of these military exercises does not change," noting, "We are paying closer attention to the reality that they are still ongoing."

In particular, she emphasized, "If the U.S. side calculates that it can promote its recent steps as 'goodwill measures,' it will not get the answer it wants."

Kim also dismissed President Trump's mention of communication between the North Korea-U.S. leaders, stating, "I know nothing about it," and adding, "It must be the only matter concerning the supreme leadership's foreign policy that I am unaware of."

This appears to make it clear that North Korea has no intention of immediately responding to a one-off reduction in the joint exercises.

However, she did not completely shut the door on the possibility of dialogue between North Korea and the U.S.

Leaving room for engagement, Kim noted, "Our head of state holds good memories and personal feelings toward Trump," adding, "The relationship between the two leaders is excellent."

(Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.