Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, sarcastically thanked South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's hardline policies for giving the North's weapons programs a boost in a statement carried Tuesday by state-run media. File pool photo by Jorge Silva/EPA-EFE
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, mocked South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as "stupid" and sarcastically praised his hardline policies for giving a boost to Pyongyang's own weapons program in a New Year's greeting directed at Seoul.
Yoon "deserves to be praised by us as the 'top-class person' who made a significant 'contribution' to building up the self-defensive and irresistible military muscle on the part of the DPRK," Kim said in a statement carried late Tuesday night by state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
"It is much easier to deal with a stupid, honest man who has shown his hostility against the enemy than a wicked man with honey in his mouth and a sword in his heart," she said.
Kim referenced the New Year's address made by Yoon in which he vowed to "build peace through strength" and accelerate defensive readiness alongside Washington and Tokyo.
"It will not be a submissive peace that is dependent on the goodwill of the adversary," Yoon said.
"By the first half of this year, we will complete the enhanced ROK-U.S. extended deterrence system to fundamentally deter any North Korean nuclear and missile threat," he added, using the official initialism for South Korea.
Extended deterrence is the U.S. commitment to use all capabilities, including nuclear, to defend South Korea from the North's threats.
In her statement, Kim called Yoon's pledge to complete the extended deterrence system a "valuable gift."
His comment "gave us again the justification and validity to further put spurs to securing more overwhelming nuclear combat capability," she said.
Kim added that the North lost time building up its military capacity during a period of negotiations and rapprochement with Yoon's "sagacious and crafty" predecessor, the engagement-focused Moon Jae-in.
South Korea's Defense Ministry called Kim's statement "nothing more than a ridiculous argument," comparing it to a criminal blaming the police or innocent civilians for committing a crime.
"Our military will establish a firm preparedness posture and punish any provocations by North Korea immediately, strongly and to the end," the ministry said in a text message sent to reporters.
While Washington and Seoul have ramped up their military cooperation since Yoon took office in 2022, North Korea has conducted missile and weapons tests at a record pace.
Pyongyang has also boosted ties with Moscow, with the White House and others claiming that the North is supplying artillery and equipment to Russia and receiving advanced technology for its space and missile programs in return.
In November, North Korea launched what it said was its first military spy satellite. Leader Kim Jong Un said over the weekend that the North would launch three more satellites in 2024 as well as continue to build up its nuclear arsenal in preparation for a confrontation with Seoul.
North Korea should "put continuous spurs to the preparations for a great event to suppress the whole territory of [S]outh Korea by mobilizing all physical means and forces including nuclear forces," Kim said, according to KCNA.
