Kim Yo-jong, Director General of the North Korea Labor Party, said she was "not at all interested" in U.S. President Donald Trump's instruction to scale back the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills. She also said she was "not aware of it at all" regarding the possibility of communication between the North Korean and U.S. leaders mentioned by Trump.
Director General Kim issued her "position on major international issues" through the Korean Central News Agency on the night of the 19th and said of the reduction of the South Korea-U.S. joint drills, "I see no value in evaluating it and am not at all interested."
She said, "Even if the scale or duration of the drills is reduced, the essence of a provocative, offensive military exercise does not change," adding, "We are paying more attention to the reality that it is still underway."
She added, "This is an unmistakable, undisguised expression of hostility toward Korea," and "If the U.S. side calculates that it can try to tout the steps it has taken this time as some kind of 'goodwill gesture,' it will not get the answer it wants."
She also kept her distance from Trump's recent mention of communication between the North Korean and U.S. leaders.
Director General Kim said, "I am not at all aware of it," adding, "It may be the only matter related to the foreign policy of our supreme leadership that I do not know about."
However, she offered a positive assessment of the personal relationship between Kim Jong-un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and President Trump. She said, "It has already been stated multiple times that our head of state has personally good memories and feelings toward Trump," adding, "The relationship between the two leaders remains excellent."
She added, "The whole world knows this, and I don't think it is particularly surprising."