North Korea's Kim Yo Jong Calls South Korean Drills a Provocation

28 June 2024, South Korea, Jeju: A Super Hornet fighter jet taking part in the first multidomain exercise of Freedom Edge held by South Korea, the United States and Japan in international waters, south of South Korea's southern island of Jeju. /US Navy vs YNA/dpa
28 June 2024, South Korea, Jeju: A Super Hornet fighter jet taking part in the first multidomain exercise of Freedom Edge held by South Korea, the United States and Japan in international waters, south of South Korea's southern island of Jeju. /US Navy vs YNA/dpa
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North Korea's Kim Yo Jong Calls South Korean Drills a Provocation

28 June 2024, South Korea, Jeju: A Super Hornet fighter jet taking part in the first multidomain exercise of Freedom Edge held by South Korea, the United States and Japan in international waters, south of South Korea's southern island of Jeju. /US Navy vs YNA/dpa
28 June 2024, South Korea, Jeju: A Super Hornet fighter jet taking part in the first multidomain exercise of Freedom Edge held by South Korea, the United States and Japan in international waters, south of South Korea's southern island of Jeju. /US Navy vs YNA/dpa

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said South Korea's recent military drills near the border between the two nations are an inexcusable and explicit provocation, according to a report from state media KCNA on Monday.

Kim Yo Jong also accused Yoon of creating tensions on the Korean peninsula to divert public attention away from his poor performance in domestic politics. She cited an online petition calling for Yoon to be impeached, with more than 1 million signatures.

Kim said that in case North Korea judges its own sovereignty as violated, its armed forces will immediately carry out mission and duty according to its constitution.

The South Korean military has resumed live-fire artillery drills near the western maritime border in late June, the first time since 2018.

Last month, South Korea said it would suspend a military agreement signed with North Korea in 2018 aimed at easing tensions, in protest against North Korea's trash balloon launches toward the South.



Iran Says it Rejected Direct Negotiations with the US

28 March 2025, Iran, Teheran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) attends a rally marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), that takes place annually on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Photo: Iranian Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
28 March 2025, Iran, Teheran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) attends a rally marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), that takes place annually on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Photo: Iranian Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Iran Says it Rejected Direct Negotiations with the US

28 March 2025, Iran, Teheran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) attends a rally marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), that takes place annually on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Photo: Iranian Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
28 March 2025, Iran, Teheran: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) attends a rally marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), that takes place annually on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Photo: Iranian Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iran’s president said Sunday that Tehran had rejected direct negotiations with the United States in response to a letter from President Donald Trump over its rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The remarks from President Masoud Pezeshkian represented the first official acknowledgment of how Iran responded to Trump’s letter. It also suggests that tensions may further rise between Tehran and Washington.

Pezeshkian said: “Although the possibility of direct negotiations between the two sides has been rejected in this response, it has been emphasized that the path for indirect negotiations remains open.”

It’s unclear, however, whether Trump would accept indirect negotiations. Indirect negotiations for years since Trump initially withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 have been unsuccessful.