Sister of North's leader blasts Ukraine over nukes

North Korean leader's sister Kim Yo-jong shown in a news program on TV at Seoul Station in this file photo dated Feb. 19. [NEWS1]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, condemned the Ukrainian president for seeking protection under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, saying this would only make it “a more vivid target” of Russia.

In a statement released by state-controlled Korea Central News Agency and appearing in English on Saturday, Kim claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his speech at the Munich Security Conference in February announced his intention “to restore the position of the country’s nuclear weapons state.”

Zelensky's "talk about the introduction of U.S. nuclear weapons and the independent development of nuclear weapons is a manifestation of his very dangerous political ambition to prolong his remaining days at any cost by gambling with the destiny of his country and people,” she said, adding, “if they are focused on nuclear daydream as now, they will be a more vivid target in Russia's nuclear sighting.”

In his speech at the security conference, Zelensky mentioned the Budapest Memorandum, an agreement signed in 1994 by Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States with Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, to provide the latter three with security assurances in return for their accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT.

In doing so, he highlighted his efforts to get the signatory countries together for consultations to guarantee Ukraine's security.

“If the [Ukrainian] authorities calculated that they can avoid the powerful fire of Russia only when they go under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, which had already been perforated, they are going to the wrong path, the last path,” Kim said.

The latest statement from Kim, who also serves as deputy director of the ruling Workers’ Party propaganda department and is the de-facto mouthpiece of her elder brother, comes amid recent reports of closer military cooperation between Russia and North Korea.

In a teleconference call with reporters on Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia has offered to send food to North Korea in return for munitions.

“As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang,” said Kirby. "We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions."

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned one individual, a Slovak national named Ashot Mkrtychev, for having attempted to facilitate the deal between Russia and North Korea.

“Schemes like the arms deal pursued by this individual show that Putin is turning to suppliers of last resort like Iran and the DPRK,” said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen in a statement, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its full name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The White House has accused North Korea multiple times of providing arms and ammunition to Russia to support its invasion of Ukraine, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. In February, it placed additional sanctions on Russia for its ongoing aggression in Ukraine.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]