Kim Yo Jong threatens 'more offensive' response to US-led drills

Seoul, South Korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, has fiercely criticised the United States for escalating regional tensions through frequent military drills, warning of a sharp and ‘more offensive’ counter-response from Pyongyang.

Speaking through state media, Kim condemned joint military exercises held in recent months by US forces and allies in the region as ‘US-led war rehearsals’.

She asserted that Pyongyang's resolve to defend its sovereignty will manifest in clearer actions, explicitly vowing to intensify its nuclear war deterrence.

This rhetoric comes even as US President Donald Trump has sought to revive diplomacy and improve bilateral ties, though his overtures have received little response.

During a general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Kim mocked denuclearisation efforts, dismissing them as silly talk and declaring North Korea's nuclear weapons status absolute and irreversible.

Warning that the North's absolute position cannot be reversed, she stated that if supreme national and military security interests are seriously violated, Pyongyang's military will mobilise all available means.