SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday that a U.S. decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea does not change what it sees as the provocative nature of the drills, dampening hopes for an early resumption of diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the comments Wednesday night in her country’s first reaction to Trump’s moves to drastically cut back the annual U.S.-South Korean military drills.“We think it’s not worth making comments on that and we have no interest in it at all,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. “The provocative, aggressive nature of the drills won’t change even though their duration and size were reduced.”
She also cited a series of other military drills carried out by the U.S. and South Korea earlier this year and South Korea’s push to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.Kim Yo Jong denied that there are any communications between Trump and Kim. Earlier this week, pressed by reporters on whether he had a conversation with Kim Jong Un, Trump said that Kim had responded to his request for a conversation.Kim Yo Jong’s statement did not contain North Korea’s typically harsh rhetoric. She briefly said relations between her brother and Trump are “still excellent,” mentioning her brother’s past comments that he still has “good memories” of Trump. This suggests North Korea may be trying to manage relations with Trump, while seeking bigger concessions to restart talks.When asked by reporters Wednesday if he will meet with Kim Jong Un this year, Trump said that “Yeah, I will be.” He wouldn’t answer a question about whether he is exchanging letters with Kim but said he gets along with him.US and South Korea confirm drastic slashing of drills
