Kim Jong Un’s sister mocks South Korea as U.S. ‘puppet’ over drill cutback

North Korea's sister, Kim Yo Jong, criticized South Korea for being a "puppet" of the United States following the reduction of joint military drills. In a statement released by North Korean state media, Kim Yo Jong alleged that President Donald Trump's sudden order to scale down the drills had left South Korea in a difficult position, forced to cancel its "war games."

She further stated that South Korea "cannot utter a single word of protest" against the departure of U.S. soldiers, referring to them as the "puppet army." The statement was made the day after North Korea rejected Trump's attempts to restart dialogue, leading to further skepticism about his claimed connection with Kim Jong Un. In response to the drill cutback, North Korea fired a series of short-range ballistic missiles, demonstrating its unwillingness to engage in negotiations.

The U.S. and South Korea had announced earlier in the week that they would end their annual summertime exercises early, after Trump directed the Pentagon to reduce the drills' scale, citing his relationship with Kim Jong Un. While South Korea welcomed Trump's decision as a sign of his commitment to peace, the move caught Seoul off guard and raised doubts about the U.S. security commitment to its ally.

Kim Yo Jong argued that South Korea had long praised the U.S.-South Korea alliance, but in reality, it resembled "the relationship between master and servant." She added that the world could see that U.S. security assistance was not free of cost.