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Why North Korea’s ‘gang of hooligans’ rebuke signals freeze in ties with South
The unusually coarse language from Kim Jong-un’s sister shows that Pyongyang has no intention of reconciling with Seoul, experts say
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s influential sister has delivered a scathing warning to the South’s government after drones were reportedly flown across the border earlier this month.
Kim Yo-jong, de facto spokeswoman for the ruling Workers’ Party, denounced South Korea’s leaders as a “gang of hooligans” and said the recent drone incidents had reinforced Pyongyang’s view that inter-Korean relations were fundamentally hostile.
In a statement released on Sunday via the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim condemned what she claimed were repeated drone intrusions into North Korean airspace.
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“This latest incident of South Korean drones intruding once again greatly helped us to solidify an even clearer image of the ROK [South Korea] as a gang of hooligans and a trash collective,” she said.
It marked the first time Pyongyang had used such crude language towards Seoul since President Lee Jae Myung’s liberal administration took office in June last year, replacing the conservative government of the impeached Yoon Suk-yeol.
Analysts say the unusually coarse rhetoric signals North Korea’s intent to cement a confrontational stance ahead of a key Workers’ Party meeting this month, even as Seoul continues to signal restraint and openness to dialogue.
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