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 a frightening message to the United States on Tuesday, when Biden government officials arrived for high-level talks in Japan and South Korea.
“We take this opportunity to alert the new United States administration that is striving to issue [gun] smell of gunpowder on our land, “said Kim Yo Jong in a statement referring to joint US and South Korean military exercises in the region.
“If that [the U.S.] wants to sleep in peace for the next four years, it is better not to cause a bad smell in the first stage “, he added, according to an English translation.
Kim’s comments, conveyed by the Central News Agency of Korea, are Pyongyang’s first reactions since Biden took office and coincided with the arrival of Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in the region.
Blinken and Austin, on their first trip abroad under Biden’s leadership, arrived in Japan on Tuesday and will travel to South Korea on Wednesday. The pair plans to reaffirm US commitments to the region and discuss ongoing security challenges, including North Korea.
“To reduce the risk of escalation, we contacted North Korean government channels starting in mid-February, including in New York. So far, we have not received a response from Pyongyang,” Blinken told a news conference on Tuesday. -market. “This has been going on for more than a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite several attempts by the United States.”
Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of Defense, on the left, and Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, wear protective masks while attending the Japan-US Security Advisory Committee (SCC) meeting in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday, March 16, 2021.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the Biden government not to ease the paralyzing economic pressure placed on North Korea.
“I hope this government will engage North Korea with the same massive sanctions regime that we did, which has 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 reached the end. We have managed to stop long-range missile testing, a big deal for the United States of America and our security,” he added.
The Trump administration made some initial progress with North Korea, but negotiations failed more than a year ago, after the United States refused to grant sanctions relief in exchange for Pyongyang’s dismantling of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
The Biden government tried unsuccessfully to restart nuclear talks with North Korea.
Under the command of third-generation North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the secluded state conducted its most powerful nuclear test, launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile and threatened to launch missiles into the waters close to the North American territory of 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 his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, launched over a period of 27 years.