Kim Yo Jong again rejects Seoul’s medical aid proposal

Kim Yo Jong again criticised South Korea’s proposal to provide medical equipment to North Korea. In a statement on October 9, she linked the initiative to the dispute over September mine explosions in the Demilitarized Zone.

Seoul’s proposal involves equipment worth about $6.75 million for a North Korean hospital by the end of November. South Korea sought an exemption from UN sanctions to allow the transfer. Kim, the North Korean leader’s sister and a senior Workers’ Party official, considers the initiative an attempt to demonstrate goodwill amid worsening relations.

The explosions occurred in the DMZ on September 21. Three South Korean soldiers were injured, two seriously. Following an investigation with the United Nations Command, South Korean military officials said mines planted by North Korea about ten metres south of the military demarcation line caused the blasts. Pyongyang denies the allegations.

Kim described the aid proposal as a continuation of a farce and accused Seoul of first portraying itself as a victim and then as a humanitarian benefactor. She also alleged that South Korea was trying to evade responsibility for the tensions. This represents the North Korean leadership’s position rather than an established investigative finding.

The statement followed similar criticism of the medical aid on October 8. The new remarks reiterate Pyongyang’s rejection of the initiative and link it to the continuing dispute over the border incident.