Kim Yo-jong, Vice Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea [Yonhap News] 

Kim Yo-jong, Vice Department Director of the Workers' Party of Korea and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, poured out ridicule and vitriol toward South Korea regarding the scaling back of joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises at the direction of U.S. President Donald Trump, labeling Seoul's situation as "pitiful for being unable to play its favorite war games."

In a statement released via the Korean Central News Agency on the night of the 20th, Kim stated, "At a single word from Trump, who abruptly ordered a reduction in the exercises, Seoul has been placed in a pitiful position where it must fold up the 'war game' it enjoyed most."

Kim mocked the reduction of the joint exercises as a "half-baked exercise with its body cut off" and an "empty shell without the core," sarcastically calling it "an unprecedented 'disaster' for South Korea."

She continued by pointing out, "It is the destiny of a puppet military that has surrendered its command rights to a superior that it cannot even utter a word of protest when the U.S. military tucks its tail, following the unilateral orders of the U.S. commander-in-chief without any bilateral coordination." She added, "This is the reality of South Korea, which entrusts its national defense and security to foreign powers while claiming to have 'more than enough ability to defend itself.'"

Furthermore, she disparaged the South Korea-U.S. alliance, stating, "The situation in South Korea, crestfallen because it can no longer play its most desired 'war game,' clearly illustrates the master-servant relationship of the 'ROK-U.S. alliance' they so proudly boasted of."

She also lashed out, calling the incident "a natural disaster brought about by the unrealistic and anachronistic delusions and security views of the South Korean authorities, who, obsessed with blind faith in their master, have incessantly fussed about trying to change the regional dynamics controlled by a nuclear-armed state," describing it as "retribution."

Kim mocked the South Korean government for assessing the reduction of the exercises as a "turning point toward a new phase" or "a new starting point that could bring about a change in relations," calling it "a pathetic excuse that anyone can see through."

Furthermore, she criticized President Lee Jae-myung by name.

Kim sarcastically remarked that while Lee was "flattering with cringe-worthy words" by expressing "respect" for President Trump's decision to scale back the joint exercises, he was simultaneously talking about "self-reliant national defense" and "securing independent military power."

She spewed insults, stating, "Lee Jae-myung's dual, inconsistent behavior perfectly demonstrates the anxious and contradictory psychology of South Korea."

UFS approaching early conclusion [Paju=Yonhap News] 

Kim added, "The fact that U.S. security support is no longer free is a reality before our eyes that the whole world is witnessing," and suggested, "I think it would be better for them to use this opportunity to properly learn about their own thoroughly subordinate position and find an answer for their survival."

Following her statement targeting the U.S. the previous day, Kim issued this statement heavily criticizing South Korea. Both were released late at night, considering U.S. time zones.

While her previous day's statement, released in the form of a position on international affairs, downplayed the scale-back of the joint exercises, it also mentioned the good relationship between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, which led some to assess that she was leaving room for North Korea-U.S. dialogue.

Coming just one day after a relatively restrained statement regarding the U.S., the latest remarks directed at South Korea—using contemptuous terms like "puppet" and "wretched lackey"—are interpreted as signaling an intent to treat South Korea as a hostile, separate state with which there will be no engagement.

Yoo Ji-hoon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), assessed that the purpose of this statement is "not just the reduction of the joint exercises itself, but to attack South Korea's security autonomy and the credibility of the ROK-U.S. alliance by highlighting the asymmetry between the two nations revealed in the decision-making process."

Yoo diagnosed that "the strategic intent to separate North Korea-U.S. relations from inter-Korean relations and exclude South Korea is becoming clearer," adding, "North Korea may judge that dealing directly with Washington is more effective than improving relations with Seoul, and in this case, concerns over a so-called 'Korea Passing' could grow."

The Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, a regular joint South Korea-U.S. training for the defense of the Korean Peninsula in contingencies, will conclude early on the 21st.

The UFS exercise, which began on the 17th, was originally scheduled to run until the 27th, but its duration was significantly shortened from 11 days to 5 days following President Donald Trump's order to scale it back.

It is an unprecedented event in history that a theater-level joint South Korea-U.S. military exercise has had its duration and scale reduced in such a way.