Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.
Jorge Silva | Reuters
WASHINGTON – The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent an ominous message to the United States on Tuesday when high-ranking officials from the Biden administration arrived in Japan and South Korea.
‘We take this opportunity to warn the new US government to give up [gun] powder smell in our country, ”Kim Yo Jong said in a statement, referring to joint US and South Korean military exercises in the region.
“If it [the U.S.] wants to sleep in peace for the next four years, it should be better not to cause stink during the first step, “she added according to an English translation.
Kim’s comments, conveyed by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, are Pyongyang’s first reactions since Biden took over the presidency and coincided with the arrival of Foreign Minister Antony Blinken and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin. , in the region.
Blinken and Austin, during their first foreign trip under Biden’s leadership, arrived in Japan on Tuesday and will travel to South Korea on Wednesday. The pair plan to reaffirm US commitments in the region and discuss ongoing security challenges, including North Korea.
“To reduce the risks of escalation, we have reached out to the North Korean government channels, from mid-February, also in New York. To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang,” Blinken said during a news conference on Tuesday. “This follows more than a year without active dialogue with North Korea despite repeated efforts by the United States.”
Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, left, and Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, wear protective face masks while attending the meeting between Japan and the US Security Council (SCC) in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on the Biden government not to give up North Korea’s crippling economic pressure.
“I hope this government will liaise with North Korea with the same massive sanctions regime we did, which put real pressure on President Kim to come to the table,” Pompeo told Fox Business on Sunday. “We have made good progress. We have not made it all the way. We have stopped them from testing long-range missiles, a major issue for the United States and our security,” he added.
The Trump administration initially made progress with North Korea, but negotiations broke down more than a year ago after the US refused to grant sanction relief in exchange for Pyongyang’s dismantling of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
The Biden government has tried unsuccessfully to resume nuke talks with North Korea.
Under third-generation North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the withdrawn state conducted its most powerful nuclear test, launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile and threatened to send missiles into the waters near US territory Guam.
Since 2011, Kim has launched more than 100 missiles and conducted four nuclear weapons tests, which is more than his father, Kim Jong Il, and grandfather, Kim Il Sung, launched over a period of 27 years.