Kim Yo-jong dismisses Lee Jae Myung as “powerless dreamer,” rejects South as diplomatic partner

North Korea denounced South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as a powerless dreamer and dismissed Seoul as unworthy of diplomacy, in a blistering statement from Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un. The remarks signal worsening ties on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim delivered the comments during a meeting with senior Foreign Ministry officials on August 19 to outline Kim Jong-un’s foreign policy vision, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on August 20.

She said Lee is “not a great figure who can change the tide of history” and that “South Korea is not a country worthy of being our diplomatic counterpart.”

“Since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office, we can immediately tell they’re making a desperate show of ‘sincere efforts’ to appear as though something has changed in pursuit of ‘improving’ inter-Korean relations,” she said.

“But no matter how they try to wrap up their rotten confrontational instincts with the flowers of peace, a needle always sticks out of the sack.”

Kim dismissed Lee’s remarks as a “delusion and a pipe dream, piece by piece, clause by clause,” following a Cabinet meeting on Monday, when Lee said that “small actions will eventually pile up like pebbles and restore mutual trust.”

“No matter how firm his determination may be, how is he supposed to carry it out alone?” Kim sneered. “The South Korean people must be quite satisfied just listening to these grand declarations, filled with unachievable dreams.

“We have witnessed and experienced firsthand the filthy political system of South Korea for decades, from the Moon Jae-in administration to the Yoon Suk Yeol administration,” she continued.

“The conclusion is this: Regardless of whether the administration flies the banner of ‘conservatism’ or dons the cap of ‘liberalism,’ their confrontational ambitions against our republic have been handed down unchanged. Lee Jae Myung is not the kind of figure who can reverse the course of history.”

Kim also said Pyongyang “clearly remembers” the comments made by the foreign minister and defense minister since their nominee days — Cho Hyun and Ahn Gyu-back, respectively — that “they consider the North Korean regime and military to be their enemy.”

She went on to denounce the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington as “a rehearsal for invasion.”

“Even as the reckless U.S.-South Korean war drills, which directly threaten our republic’s security, unfold, the Lee Jae Myung administration continues parroting the old lines of its predecessors, calling them ‘defensive exercises,’” Kim said. “This only exposes the duplicitous character of the South Korean authorities.”

She specifically highlighted South Korea and the United States’ joint wartime operations plan, the Oplan 5022, which reportedly includes preemptive measures to neutralize the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities and expand strikes into North Korean territory.

“While pretending to extend a hand for reconciliation, they are reviewing a plan to remove our nuclear and missile capabilities early and extend their offensive into our territory,” she said.

Kim also made clear that the regime does not consider South Korea a player on the diplomatic stage.

“South Korea will not even be given the role of a background extra in the regional diplomatic theater centered around our state,” she said, adding that the North’s Foreign Ministry must develop a “strategic response” in dealing with hostile states and their sympathizers based on the leader’s assessment of the South’s “true nature.”

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]