North Korea shrugs off Trump's scaled-back drills with South Korea, saying it changes nothing
- North Korea said a U.S. decision to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea does not change what it views as the drills' provocative and aggressive nature.
- Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said North Korea has no interest in commenting on the move.
- She said the reduced size and duration of the exercises do not alter their character, and she pointed to other recent U.S.-South Korean drills and Seoul's push for nuclear-powered submarines.
- Kim Yo Jong denied that there are any communications between Trump and Kim, even as Trump said Kim had responded to his request for a conversation and said he would meet Kim this year.
North Korea said Wednesday that the Trump administration's decision to reduce annual joint military exercises with South Korea does not alter how Pyongyang views the drills. In a statement carried by state media, Kim Yo Jong said the exercises remain provocative and aggressive even after being scaled back.
Kim Yo Jong said North Korea was not interested in the move and had no need to comment on it. She also referred to other U.S.-South Korean military drills conducted earlier in the year and to South Korea's plan to introduce nuclear-powered submarines.
Her statement also said there were no communications between Trump and Kim Jong Un. The comments came after Trump said Kim had responded to his request for a conversation and said he expected to meet Kim this year.
朝鲜淡化特朗普缩减韩美军演，称这并不改变什么
朝鲜周三表示，特朗普政府决定缩减美韩年度联合军演，并不会改变平壤对这些演习的看法。金正恩的妹妹金与正在国家媒体转发的声明中说，即使军演规模缩小，其挑衅和攻击性质也没有改变。
金与正说，朝鲜对这一举动没有兴趣，也没有必要发表评论。她还提到了美韩今年早些时候举行的其他军事演习，以及韩国推动引进核动力潜艇的计划。
她的声明还说，特朗普和金正恩之间没有任何沟通。就在此前，特朗普曾表示金正恩回应了他的通话请求，并称自己预计今年会与金正恩会面。