North Korea s Kim Yo Jong says US Trump administration stepping up provocations

SEOUL – North Korea has slammed the United States for “political and military provocations” over the visit of a US Navy aircraft carrier to the South Korean port of Busan.

The statement by Ms Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un, was published on March 4 by the state-owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“As soon as its new administration appeared this year, the US has stepped up the political and military provocations against the DPRK, ‘carrying forward’ the former administration’s hostile policy,” her statement read.

DPRK is the acronym for the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The USS Carl Vinson, the flagship of a carrier strike group, arrived in Busan for a scheduled port visit on March 2, the US Navy said in a statement.

“The visit to Busan exemplifies the US commitment to the region, further enhancing relationships with ROK leaders and the local population,” the US Navy said, using the acronym for the South’s formal name, Republic of Korea.

Military cooperation between Seoul and Washington regularly invites condemnation from Pyongyang, where the government sees such moves as preparation for an invasion, and often carries out missile tests in response.

“The US’ vicious moves for confrontation with the DPRK have been intensified in March with the appearance of Carl Vinson in the Korean peninsula,” said Ms Kim.

South Korea’s Ministry of Defence said that Ms Kim’s statement is “nothing more than an excuse aimed at justifying its nuclear missile development and creating a pretext for provocations”.

“North Korea’s nuclear ambitions can never be tolerated, and the only path to its survival is to abandon its obsession and delusions about nuclear weapons,” the ministry said in a statement.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at one of their