Mick Hartley

Another outburst from Kim Jong-un's grim-faced attack-dog sister.

North Korea will “threaten the strategic security” of its enemies, Kim Jong-un’s sister has warned the world, as nuclear monitors said that the country appeared to have harvested more fuel for the manufacture of nuclear warheads.

Kim Yo-jong, a senior figure in Pyongyang who sometimes serves as spokeswoman for her brother, accused the United States of “hurling strategic assets into the Korean peninsula” after an American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier docked in South Korea in a show of strength and solidarity with its ally.

“The US and its stooges’ heinous ambition to threaten, pressurise and bring [North Korea] to its knees by force of arms is developing into a more reckless phase with the passage of time,” she was quoted as saying by the North Korean state news agency.

“As the deployment of US strategic assets to the Korean peninsula becomes institutionalised and negatively impacts our security interests, we are seriously considering measures to escalate our actions threatening the security of the enemy at the strategic level.”

The implication is that the North will expand nuclear weapons production, a resolution expressed in the past by Kim Jong-un. This week there is further evidence that he is carrying out his threat.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported signs that North Korea was operating factories for enriching nuclear fuel for warheads, in violation of UN security council resolutions.

Are they perhaps angling for some attention from the Big Orange Donald? Last time, despite the photo ops of the two great men together, nothing was achieved. But times have changed.

Trump had three meetings with Kim Jong-un during his first term, although the two men failed to agree on terms for North Korean denuclearisation. Since returning to the White House, the US president has said little about his policy towards North Korea.

He caused some alarm by referring to Kim Jong-un as “a nuclear power”, a term that is generally applied only to the US, Russia, China, France and Britain. Although it is well known that North Korea possesses nuclear warheads, in diplomatic terms the use of the expression implies an acceptance of them, and an abandonment of efforts at disarmament.

Hmm. No doubt Trump will at some point announce his bold new plan for North Korea. He'll "make a deal".

We're being told by commentators and strategists that this is all a clever game, demonstrating the unique Trump genius, whereby he can finally focus his mind on the great issue of China instead of being distracted by side issues like Ukraine, the alliance of the free world nations, NATO, and the future of Europe. But since his last term North Korea has pivoted from being China's close ally to being a friend of Putin. Indeed relations between China and North Korea are rumoured to have become somewhat strained, as North Korean troops are despatched to Ukraine and North Korean arms are supplied to Moscow. Will Trump factor this in? Will he acknowledge North Korea as a bona fide nuclear power to please Putin, and annoy Xi?

Anything's possible.