North Korea sent a thinly veiled threat against the new U.S. administration, warning President Biden not to “cause a stink” as he reassesses the U.S. stance toward Pyongyang.
The reply came in a statement to the state-run Korean Central News Agency by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of dictator Kim Jong-un.
“We take this opportunity to warn the new U.S. administration trying hard to give off powder smell in our land,” she said, an apparent reference to joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises.
“If it wants to sleep in peace for [the] coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step,” Ms. Kim said.
She spoke some hours after White House press secretary Jen Psaki accused North Korea of stiffing the new Biden administration.
“Diplomacy is always our goal. Our goal is to reduce the risk of escalation. But, to date, we have not received any response,” she said, adding that Mr. Biden’s outreach “follows over a year without active dialogue with North Korea, despite multiple attempts by the U.S. to engage.”
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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