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🇰🇷 South Korea /Conflict & Security

Kim Yo Jong Denies Ukraine Troop Deployment, Warns Japan

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • North Korea's Kim Yo Jong denied claims of additional troop deployment to Ukraine, calling them a "fabrication" by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's administration.
  • She criticized the U.S. and the West for the Ukraine crisis and affirmed North Korea's commitment to its alliance with Russia.
  • Kim also issued a stern warning to Japan, threatening a "catastrophic strike" if Tokyo makes a wrong move.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, vehemently denied on Thursday reports suggesting Pyongyang's additional troop deployment to Ukraine. She dismissed the claims as a "self-made drama" orchestrated by the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The additional troop deployment of our army, which the Zelenskyy gang fabricated and spread, is completely groundless and a self-made drama.

— Kim Yo JongDenying reports of North Korea sending additional troops to Ukraine.

Kim, who holds a key position within the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, stated that the allegations of North Korea sending more troops to support Russia's war effort were "completely groundless." Her remarks directly counter recent assertions by Zelenskyy suggesting Russia's desire to procure between 30,000 and 50,000 troops from North Korea.

The security threats of the U.S. and the West are the fundamental factors that have caused the Ukraine crisis.

— Kim Yo JongCriticizing the role of the U.S. and Western nations in the Ukraine conflict.

In her statement, released via the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim also directed criticism towards the United States and Western nations, identifying their "security threats" as the primary cause of the Ukraine crisis. She reaffirmed the strength of the North Korea-Russia relationship, citing the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership and asserting that cooperation between the two nations falls within the "legal sphere of exercising sovereign rights." She emphasized North Korea's "infinite responsibility" as an ally.

North Korea's cooperation with Russia is a legal area of exercising sovereign rights, and as an ally, the DPRK bears infinite responsibility.

— Kim Yo JongAffirming the legitimacy and commitment of the North Korea-Russia alliance.

Furthermore, Kim issued a stark warning to Japan. She stated that North Korea's military leadership now views Japan's evolving military posture as a "serious security challenge." She declared that if Japan attempts any "wrong choice," it will face an "immediate and irreversible annihilating strike," leading to its "non-survival."

Our military leadership has begun to consider deterring and suppressing the threat of Japan, which is changing into a serious security challenge, or making it more than that as part of our military strategy.

— Kim Yo JongAddressing Japan's military developments and their implications for North Korea's security.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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