DistantNews
Support us
North Korea Leader's Sister Denies Knowledge of Kim-Trump Communication
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Conflict & Security

North Korea Leader's Sister Denies Knowledge of Kim-Trump Communication

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • North Korea's Kim Yo Jong stated she is unaware of any communication between her brother, Kim Jong Un, and U.S. President Donald Trump.
  • This statement follows Trump's hint of contact and his decision to scale back annual military exercises with South Korea.
  • Kim Yo Jong asserted that despite the lack of awareness regarding communication, the relationship between the two leaders remains "excellent."

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has stated she has no knowledge of any recent communication between her brother and U.S. President Donald Trump. Her comments came after Trump suggested he had been in contact with the North Korean leader and announced a reduction in the annual joint military exercises with South Korea.

Regarding the recent news from Washington about communication between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, I am completely unaware of it.

— Kim Yo JongStating her lack of knowledge about reported communication between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump.

Trump had indicated on Sunday that he had instructed the Pentagon to curtail the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, citing his "good relationship" with Kim Jong Un. When asked if Kim had responded to his requests for a conversation, Trump replied, "Yeah, he has." However, Kim Yo Jong directly contradicted this on Wednesday, stating, "Regarding the recent news from Washington about communication between the leaders of North Korea and the United States, I am completely unaware of it."

It is likely the only matter concerning our top leadership's foreign policy that I am unaware of.

— Kim Yo JongEmphasizing her usual awareness of foreign policy matters.

Despite her stated lack of awareness regarding direct communication, Kim Yo Jong affirmed that her brother still holds "good memories and feelings" about Trump and that the relationship between the two leaders continues to be "excellent." Meanwhile, South Korea's military announced that the drills would conclude on Friday, August 21, instead of the originally planned August 27, a decision described as being made "at the suggestion of the US side."

We have decided to adjust the UFS exercise period to run from the 17th to the 21st.

— South Korea's Joint Chiefs of StaffAnnouncing the revised schedule for the military drills.

The Pentagon confirmed the drills were "substantially reduced" but stated this would "preserve essential readiness and... (cause) no degradation to US training objectives." North Korea has historically viewed these exercises as provocative and a rehearsal for invasion. State media commentary referred to the drills as posing "the most immediate and open threat" to North Korea and regional security, without mentioning Trump's order or his desire to resume talks.

We do not consider it worth commenting on and find it completely uninteresting.

— Kim Yo JongDismissing the reduction in the scale or duration of the military exercises.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog