Pyongyang: Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has strongly criticized the Trump administration for what she described as increasing provocations against Pyongyang, state-run media KCNA reported on Tuesday.
Kim specifically condemned the recent arrival of the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in South Korea, calling it a continuation of Washington’s confrontational stance toward North Korea.
The nuclear-powered warship docked in the port city of Busan on Sunday, marking the first such visit by a U.S. carrier since the beginning of Trump's second term in January.
"As soon as the new U.S. administration took office this year, it has escalated both political and military provocations against the DPRK, inheriting the hostile policies of its predecessor," Kim said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
She further argued that these actions provided North Korea with justification to strengthen its nuclear capabilities. "The current U.S. policy toward the DPRK fully warrants our continuous enhancement of our nuclear war deterrent," she stated.
South Korea’s defense ministry dismissed Kim's remarks, stating they were an attempt to justify Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program. "North Korea's nuclear ambitions are completely unacceptable. The only path to its survival is to abandon its obsession with nuclear weapons," the ministry said in a statement.
In addition to the carrier deployment, Kim Yo Jong also condemned recent U.S. B-1B bomber flights over the Korean Peninsula, conducted as part of joint exercises with South Korea and Japan. She also criticized a trilateral commitment made at the Munich Security Conference in February, where the three allies reaffirmed their goal of North Korea’s denuclearization.
Despite the growing tensions, President Trump—who met Kim Jong Un in historic summits during his first term—has expressed a willingness to engage with the North Korean leader again.
