‘Old man’: North Korea blasts Biden after US-South Korea nuclear pact

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called US President Joe Biden “an old man with no future” as Washington and Seoul signed a new pact.

As the US and South Korea signed a new nuclear deterrence agreement this week, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hit back at a comment made by US President Joe Biden, saying it was the “nonsensical remark from a person in his dotage”.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sibling to the North Korean leader, made the comment after Mr Biden, 80, said any “nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies … or partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime [takes] such an action”.

In response, the 35-year-old Yo-jong said: “It may be taken as a nonsensical remark from the person in his dotage who is not at all capable of taking the responsibility for security and the future of the US, an old man with no future, as it is too much for him to serve out [the] two-year remainder of his office term.”

She also called South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol a “fool”.

Kim Yo-jong has previously been touted as a potential successor to her brother. Picture: Jorge Silva/AFP

Her comments came after Mr Biden met with the South Korean President in Washington to draw up the “Washington Declaration”.

It is a nuclear deterrence pact which will establish a group to consult regularly on ways to deter North Korea from using its nuclear weapons, as well as planning responses to any military actions taken by the rogue nation.

It is similar to a group the US had with its European allies during the Cold War.

The agreement comes after requests from South Korea for more involvement in responses to North Korean threats, NPR reports.

It’s no surprise that North Korea wasn’t impressed by the deal, with Yo-jong threatening that it will lead to “more serious danger” for the region, “and it is an act that can thus never be welcome”.

“The more the enemies are dead set on staging nuclear war exercises, and the more nuclear assets they deploy in the vicinity of the Korean Peninsula, the stronger the exercise of our right to self-defence will become in direct proportion to them,” she said, in comments published in North Korean state media.

Joe Biden with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (right) and his wife Kim Keon-hee in Washington this week, where as well as signing the pact, they sang karaoke. Picture: Brendan Smialowski/AFP

She added the agreement between America and South Korea showed a “most hostile and aggressive will of action” against her country.

Yo-jong said North Korea remained convinced that its nuclear deterrent “should be brought to further perfection”.

Meanwhile, former South Korean president Moon Jae-in said dialogue needed to be restored between the countries, in the wake of the Washington Declaration.

“The country is facing its highest risk, worsened by the instability of the international situation,” he said.

“South and North Korea and the United States need to make efforts to restore dialogue.”

He also said “cooperation with China and Russia is needed for denuclearisation across the Korean Peninsula,” as he condemned the current government’s lack of “serious efforts to stably manage the situation”.

US President Joe Biden has been called ‘an old man with no future’ by Kim Yo-jong. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

“I hope South and North Korea and the United States will all resume dialogue and relieve tensions to step forward toward the path of peace before it is too late.”

Despite enduring years of sanctions, North Korea has continued to work on its banned nuclear and missile programa, last year declaring itself an “irreversible” nuclear power. This effectively ended any possibility of denuclearisation talks.

So far this year, North Korea has conducted a string of test launches, including test-firing the country’s first solid-fuel ballistic missile – a key breakthrough for the nation.

The US and South Korea have responded to the heightened threat with joint military exercises using advanced stealth jets and strategic US assets.