Seoul:Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has reiterated North Korea's rejection of South Korea's offer of humanitarian medical assistance, dismissing it as a "farce."
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim's statement, reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), came a day after she declined Seoul's plan to deliver 1,431 medical items across 166 categories to a hospital in Pyongyang. She described the offer as an "insult" and a "political provocation."
Kim further argued that South Korea's medical aid proposal and its accusations against North Korea regarding a recent land mine explosion near the inter-Korean border were attempts to tarnish Pyongyang's image. North Korea has denied involvement in the September 21 mine blast within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which injured three South Korean soldiers. It accused Seoul of fabricating evidence and warned of "immediate and merciless" retaliation if its troops are targeted.
These actions, Kim said, represent "unprecedented politically-motivated, military and moral provocations" against North Korea, which it will continue to "disregard" and "reject." Meanwhile, South Korea had secured a sanctions exemption from the U.N. Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee in May for the humanitarian program.