Korea-Konflikt: Nordkorea nennt US-Manöver trotz Kürzung „provokativ“

North Korea has dismissed the United States' decision to scale down joint military drills with South Korea as "provocative," despite the reduction of their size and duration. Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, stated in a statement by the state news agency KCNA that any diminishment of the exercises would not change their "provocative and offensive nature."

They remain hostile military exercises against North Korea, Kim added. The sister also claimed to know nothing of communication between the leaders of North and South Korea and acknowledged that Kim Jong Un has "good memories" of US President Donald Trump and a still good relationship between the two. Last weekend, Trump announced on his social media platform Truth Social that the joint military exercises with South Korea would be considerably smaller.

He cited his alleged "very good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The military maneuvers, Trump wrote, sent a "completely inappropriate and hostile signal" to a country that, as long as he had been president, had not posed a threat and behaved respectfully. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced on Wednesday that the ongoing military exercises, titled "Ulchi Freedom Shield," would be cut in half and conclude on Friday at the request of the United States.

South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun also clarified that the South Korean government was not informed of Trump's online post in advance. Meanwhile, the "Wall Street Journal" reported, citing unnamed US officials, that Trump would like to meet Kim again this fall. Trump had met Kim multiple times during his first term. Following a first summit in Singapore in 2018, the two leaders' second encounter ended in a scandal in Hanoi the following year, when Kim left before the official program ended, due to a dispute over North Korea's nuclear disarmament negotiations.