Pyongyang: Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has condemned a U.S.-led multinational maritime exercise, describing it as a "war rehearsal."
According to Yonhap News Agency, her statement was released through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The U.S. Navy initiated the Pacific Vanguard exercise on August 30 near Guam, involving maritime forces from South Korea, Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand.
Kim Yo-jong criticized the exercise, stating, "During the war rehearsal, various naval training for U.S.-centered anti-warship, anti-air, and anti-submarine warfare was staged intensively for more than ten days." She further described the exercise as another "threatening 'war game'" created by the United States to promote inter-camp confrontation in the region.
She elaborated on her stance, asserting, "This is a part of the U.S. political and military design to prolong its hegemony by relying on the military strength of the exclusive camp in the Asia-Pacific region where there are many big powers regarded as its major rivals." The statement highlights North Korea's perspective on the strategic intentions behind U.S. military activities in the region.