Kim Yo Jong, the influential younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has condemned a new security agreement between the US and South Korea. The pact, which was signed at the White House on Wednesday, aims to deter North Korean aggression and includes a US commitment to deploy a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time since the 1980s. However, Kim Yo Jong criticised the deal as a “typical product of their extreme anti-North Korean hostile policy," claiming it would increase the risk to peace and security in northeast Asia and the world. She also slammed President Joe Biden for his "nonsensical remark from the person in his dotage" that any nuclear attack by North Korea would result in the end of the regime. Kim Yo Jong also labelled South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol a "fool."
The security pact resulted from months-long discussions between officials from both countries. It says that the US intends to “take steps to make our deterrence more visible through the regular deployment of strategic assets, including a US nuclear ballistic submarine visit to South Korea.” However, officials were clear that such assets would not be stationed permanently, and there is no plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean peninsula.
During a joint news conference at the White House, Biden hailed the “ironclad” alliance between the US and South Korea, and offered a stark warning to North Korea. “A nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners is unacceptable, and will result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action,” he said.
Kim Yo Jong was promoted to the North Korean top decision-making body in September 2021 and is believed to be one of her brother’s most trusted confidantes. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service previously assessed her to be the country’s “de facto second in command.” This marks the first response from North Korea to the new security pact.