North Korea's Kim Yo Jong condemns U.S. drills, rejects denuclearization

North Korea's powerful ruling party official Kim Yo Jong condemned U.S.-led military exercises and rejected international calls for denuclearization in two statements released on September 17 and 18, 2026. The statements, carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, came as the International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference was underway in Vienna and days after the conclusion of a multinational naval drill near Guam. In her September 18 statement, Kim Yo Jong criticized the Pacific Vanguard 2026 exercise, which involved the navies of the United States, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. She called it a "threatening war game" and part of Washington's efforts to expand military influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Kim warned that North Korea would take "responsive measures proportional or more offensive in its nature" and that its armed forces would "mobilize all means available" if its security or national interests were violated. She also vowed there would be "never ever change in the course of intensifying the nuclear war deterrence.