Spain Deploys Troops as Ceuta Faces Major Migrant Surge From Morocco 
Capital One Says AML Review Led to Closure of Trump Organization Accounts 
China Defends Industrial Policy Ahead of Key U.S. and EU Trade Talks 
Peru Court Frees Former President Ollanta Humala After Conviction Overturned 
Trump Says U.S. ICC Campaign Aims to Protect Netanyahu, Not Himself 
North Korea Rejects U.S. Cyber Threat Claims, Slams Allied Warning 
Trump Urges Exxon, Chevron to Cut Gas Prices After Record Oil Profits 
Iran Warns of Retaliation as Trump Threatens New Strikes, Oil Risks Intensify 
Israel Strikes Gaza Near Hospital as Uncertainty Grows Over Hamas Disarmament Deal 
US Signals More Joint Yen Intervention With Japan if Currency Volatility Continues 
25 Democratic-Led States Sue Trump Administration Over New Global Tariffs 
White House: No Weaponized Drones Seized at FIFA World Cup Venues Despite 700 Recoveries 
DOJ Subpoenas New York Times Freelancer Over North Korea Military Report 
Ukraine Protests Grow Over Zelensky’s Dismissal of Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov 
Gulf Shipping Traffic Steady as U.S.-Iran Talks Remain Uncertain 
Tensions have escalated in the Korean peninsula as of late with North Korea’s continued weapons tests. Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, issued another warning that Pyongyang would carry out a nuclear response to any further provocation.
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, issued a statement published by the state media Tuesday. Kim called the comments of South Korean defense minister Suh Wook regarding South Korea’s capabilities of pre-emptive strikes a “fantastic daydream” and the “hysteria of a lunatic.”
Kim Yo-jong reiterated that while Pyongyang does not want another war to occur in the peninsula, North Korea will retaliate with nuclear forces if South Korea resorts to pre-emptive strikes or other attacks that will leave South Korea’s military “little short of total destruction and ruin.”
This marks Kim Yo-jong’s second warning to Suh Wook’s remarks. Kim Yo-jong said Suh Wook’s comments over the weekend were “reckless” and that South Korea should “discipline itself if it wants to stave off disaster.”
North Korea has often warned that it would use its nuclear weapons to respond to threats by its rivals and has since ramped up the modernization of its military arsenal since Kim Jong-un succeeded his father more than 10 years ago. Pyongyang paused its weapons tests when now-former US President Donald Trump met with Kim in Vietnam for a summit in an effort to get North Korea to denuclearize. The talks ultimately fell through.
Aside from Kim Yo-jong, Pak Jong-chon, the secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Worker’s Party in North Korea, issued a separate statement over the weekend over Suh Wook’s remarks. Pak said that North Korea “will mercilessly direct all its military force into destroying major targets in Seoul and the South Korean army” should South Korea engage in military action and carry out a pre-emptive strike.
North Korea at the time, however, did not specify what it saw as major targets in the South Korean capital.
The threats come amidst rising tensions in the peninsula, as North Korea tested two ballistic missiles back in February and in March that involved a new intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM.
