Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said that South Korean President Lee Jae-myeon has a "split personality" because he claims to want peace, while the South Korean army continues to participate in joint military exercises with the United States, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
South Korea and the United States began joint military exercises this week, which include working out new measures to respond to the growing nuclear threats from North Korea.
Pyongyang regularly criticizes military maneuvers by the South Korean and American armies, because it considers them rehearsals for invasion and sometimes conducts missile tests in response. Seoul and Washington say their joint military exercises are purely defensive.
Since Yi took office in June, Seoul has been trying to improve relations with Pyongyang. This week, Yi ordered his government to prepare for the partial and phased implementation of existing agreements with North Korea. South Korea has also begun removing loudspeakers along the border that have been blasting anti-North Korean messages.
"Yi Jae-myeon is not the person who will change the course of history," the North Korean leader's sister said. She said the South Korean government "continues to talk nonsense about peace" in order to blame Pyongyang for the failures in efforts to improve bilateral relations.