Kim Jong-Un’s Sister Slams South Korea’s Preemptive Strike Comments

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim called South Korea’s defense minister a “scum-like guy” for talking about preemptive strikes on the North, warning Sunday, April 3, 2022, that the South may face “a serious threat”

Kim Yo Jong who happens to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s younger sister on Sunday, condemned South Korea for escalating military tensions after the South’s defense minister made remarks about its ability to strike against the North.

Calling the minister, Suh Wook, a “senseless and scum-like guy,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that his “rhetoric about the ‘preemptive strike’ has further worsened the inter-Korean relations.”

Calling the minister, Suh Wook, a “senseless and scum-like guy,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that his “rhetoric about the ‘preemptive strike’ has further worsened the inter-Korean relations.”

“South Korea may face a serious threat owing to the reckless remarks,” said Kim, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

Kim, a close aide to the North Korean leader, added that Seoul “should discipline itself if it wants to stave off disaster.”

The strongly-worded statement from Kim, who is known to have a strong influence over inter-Korean affairs, came ahead of the launch of a new South Korean government led by conservative President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol next month.

The defense minister on Friday said that South Korean troops can “accurately” strike firing sites for North missiles as well as command and support facilities if there are clear signs of a launch toward the South.

Kim Yo Jong’s statement came amid heightened tensions between the rival Koreas over the North’s spate of weapons tests this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in more than four years. Some experts say her statement could signal that North Korea will conduct more significant weapons tests soon and take a hardline stance on South Korea.

The ICBM test on March 24 that broke North Korea’s four-year moratorium on big weapons tests was an embarrassment to South Korea’s liberal President Moon Jae-in, who has pushed hard to achieve greater reconciliation between the countries and find a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear crisis.

During a visit to the country’s strategic missile command on Friday, South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said that South Korea has the ability and readiness to launch precision strikes on North Korea if it detects the North intends to fire missiles at South Korea.

Seoul has long maintained such a preemptive attack strategy to cope with North Korea’s growing missile and nuclear threats, but it was highly unusual for a senior Seoul official under the Moon administration to publicly discuss it. No one at this stage expects South Korea to launch an attack on North Korea simply to stop the North from testing missiles. An attack on the North’s nuclear facilities is even less likely, considering they’re largely underground at the Yongbyon complex and scattered elsewhere around the country. Concealed in caves and tunnels, they would not be easy to target.

The topic of a preemptive strike, however, is gaining currency as the North continues testing missiles and building up its nuclear stockpile, as well as other weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological.

Retired Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, who commanded the U.S. Forces Korea and the Combined Forces Command that includes South Korean troops from 2013 to 2016, revealed in an online discussion that “we have been working on the intelligence capabilities needed for preemptive strikes.”
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That comment means that the U.S. and South Korea are studying how much they need to know about exactly where and how to destroy the North’s missile and nuclear complexes. It does not mean they’re about to conduct strikes, just that they’re engaging in serious contingency planning. Scaparrotti acknowledged: “We’re not advancing with the sense of urgency with which we should be advancing.”

The North Koreans, he said, are “moving faster than expected.” Obviously, commanders should be ready to strike — whether preemptively or in retaliation — even if they’ll never put their carefully devised plans into practice.