Kim Yo Jong, Director of the Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers' Party of Korea [Screenshot from the Korean Central News Agency website]

Kim Yo Jong, Vice Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, threatened on the 10th, stating, "The military power display by hostile forces, which encroaches upon and escalates provocations near our state's sovereign security sphere, could lead to unimaginable and terrible consequences."

Vice Director Kim, the younger sister of State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un, revealed this in a statement titled "Our State's Will to Defend Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula and in the Region is Firm," disseminated through the Korean Central News Agency. She denounced the FS exercise, which began the previous day, as a "provocative and aggressive war rehearsal by those who simulate and plan confrontation with our state."

Vice Director Kim pointed out, "Regardless of what cause is invoked or how the training elements are adjusted, the overt confrontational nature of this high-intensity, large-scale war simulation exercise, orchestrated by the most hostile entities right at our doorstep, will not change in the slightest."

She added, "The recent global geopolitical crises and a series of international incidents demonstrate that there is no distinction between defense and offense, nor between exercises and actual combat, in all military actions undertaken by enemy states in the field," and stressed, "We must suppress them with an extraordinarily overwhelming and preemptive, super-powerful offensive, not with matching responses or proportionality."

The terms "global geopolitical crises" and "a series of international incidents" are interpreted as references to the war between the United States and Israel and Iran, emphasizing that North Korea is closely monitoring the ROK-U.S. combined exercises amidst rapidly changing international circumstances.

Vice Director Kim recalled Chairman Kim Jong Un's remarks, "The most powerful offensive capability is the most reliable deterrent," and emphasized, "The enemy must never attempt to test our patience, will, and capabilities."

She further stated, "We will resolutely manage strategic threats to national and regional security through the loading of destructive power, including all available special means that can be overwhelming, and through the responsible exercise of that deterrent force." This is interpreted as a suggestion that nuclear weapons could be mobilized in case of emergency.

She declared, "We will constantly and repeatedly impress upon the enemy forces the image of our war deterrence and its lethality," and added, "We will awaken devastating destructive power that the enemy cannot even dare to contend with, and defend the firm peace of our nation."

Vehicles are parked at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on March 9, the day the ROK-U.S. combined exercise 'Freedom Shield' (FS) began. This year's FS exercise, which will continue until March 19, incorporates realistic threats analyzed from recent warfare patterns into its scenarios. [Yonhap News]

Vice Director Kim referred to the United States and South Korea as "hostile forces" without directly naming them.

This statement is the first issued by Kim Yo Jong since her promotion from Deputy Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department to Director of the Organization and Guidance Department, following the 9th Congress of the Workers' Party last month.

Although the Director of the Organization and Guidance Department is responsible for distributing and managing Kim Jong Un's directives and party policies, it appears that this role also continues to serve as a channel for messages to the South.

A Unification Ministry official assessed Kim's statement, noting that while it contained threatening language, she did not directly refer to the United States. "It appears to be a response that touches upon the ROK-U.S. combined exercise while also considering the current situation, including developments in the Middle East," the official said.

The ROK and U.S. military authorities are conducting the FS exercise, which is defensive in nature and prepared for contingencies on the Korean Peninsula, from March 9 to 19.

The number of troops participating in this year's FS exercise is approximately 18,000, similar to last year. However, the number of field training exercises (FTX) involving actual military movements is planned for 22, which is less than half compared to the 51 FTX conducted during last March's FS exercise.