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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversees a firepower strike drill involving multiple-rocket launchers in the Wonsan area on Mar. 2. (KCNA/Yonhap News)

After the Blue House asked North Korea to stop launching short-range projectiles, Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and first vice director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), responded on Mar. 3 with a critical statement littered with insulting expressions such as “senseless,” “foolish,” and “imbecilic.” No matter how poor inter-Korean relations may be at the moment, some things should remain unsaid. Kim’s remarks were extremely rude, and she ought to refrain from repeating them.

It’s unprecedented for a member of North Korea’s “Paektu bloodline” (the Kim Dynasty) to launch a personal attack on South Korea. That has prompted some analysts to conclude that Kim Yo-jong’s statement mirrors the frustration of Kim Jong-un himself. In her statement, Kim Yo-jong described the short-range missile launch as a “firepower strike drill” and claimed that “the drill was not aimed to threaten anybody” but was “an action for self-defense.” “It is really the height of folly that those keen on war exercises poke their noses [into] the military exercises conducted by the other,” Kim said, comparing the Blue House’s behavior to that of “a mere child.”

North Korea reportedly carried out its “firepower strike drill” at a smaller scale than previous years so as not to provoke the US. Even if that’s true, brazenly firing short-range projectiles during an emergency, when all countries in Northeast Asia are scrambling to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, is mind-boggling.

During the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Kim Yo-jong made a significant contribution to restarting inter-Korean dialogue by delivering a personal letter from Kim Jong-un to South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Many people were deeply impressed by her agreeable demeanor and her proper comportment at the time. For such a figure to resort to the crude language of the street is not only disappointing, but also damages trust between South and North Korea.

Kim Yo-jong did refrain from criticizing Moon Jae-in directly, which we’d like to interpret as an attempt to avoid the worst possible ramifications. We hope that North Korea will not engage in any further crude criticism, as that would further widen the emotional chasm between the two sides. Now is the time for North Korea to enthusiastically take up Seoul’s offer for inter-Korean talks about blocking the spread of the coronavirus.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]