[Anchor]

North Korea has issued its first public response. Kim Yo-jong made a midnight appearance last night (August 19), stating that she is unaware of any communication between North Korea and the United States, while describing the relationship between the two leaders as excellent. Furthermore, North Korea fired missiles once again this afternoon (August 20).

Reporter Kim Ayeong has the details.

[Reporter]

North Korea's first official response to U.S. President Trump's dialogue overture came in the form of a statement by Kim Yo-jong, vice department director and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It was released at 10:00 PM Korea time, which was 9:00 AM in the United States as the workday was beginning.

Kim Yo-jong stated that she is "completely unaware of any communication between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S.," adding that this is "probably the only issue regarding the top leadership's foreign policy that she does not know about."

At the same time, she noted that it has already been stated several times that Kim Jong Un holds fond memories and feelings toward Trump, emphasizing that "the relationship between the two leaders remains wonderfully intact."

Considering that Kim Yo-jong, often called the mouth of Kim Jong Un, has overseen policy toward the United States, her remarks are interpreted as an indirect denial of U.S.-North Korea communications while leaving room for the situation to develop.

[Koh Yu-hwan, Professor Emeritus at Dongguk University: Since Trump's remarks could be misunderstood as direct communication between the two leaders, she denied it while implying that something else could exist, which should be seen as saving face for Trump.]

Kim Yo-jong also belittled the scaling back of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.

She dismissed them as not worth evaluating and of no interest, arguing that reductions in scale or dates do not change the fundamental nature of the drills.

Maintaining her previous demand for a complete halt, she essentially played hardball, indicating that the reduction card alone would not draw them into dialogue.

At around 5:00 PM today, North Korea fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea.

This marks the first ballistic missile launch in eight days and is interpreted as a show of force against the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, which run through tomorrow.

(Video Editing: Wi Won-yang)