[Edaily Reporter Kim In-kyoung ] Kim Yo-jong, Director of the General Affairs Department of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, has once again criticized the Ministry of Unification’s plan to provide medical equipment to North Korea. Director Kim described the plan as “another installment in a self-produced farce” and reaffirmed North Korea’s hostile stance toward the South.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 9th, Director Kim issued a written statement, declaring, “There is nothing more hideous than malice disguised as ‘goodwill.’”

Director Kim assessed, “South Korea’s ‘landmine explosion’ hoax and its ‘medical equipment aid’ farce are merely two sides of the same coin, born of an ingrained habit of confrontation toward our nation,” adding, “Their sole true purpose is the sinister intent to undermine the dignity and image of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) by any means necessary.”

Director Kim, who has long claimed that last month’s landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was a “staged incident” by South Korea, is escalating his offensive by linking this incident to the government’s plan to provide medical equipment to North Korea. Notably, his criticism of the medical equipment aid plan resumed less than a full day after his previous remarks around noon on the 8th.

Director Kim mocked, “South Korea’s hooligans have once again been thoroughly outmaneuvered,” adding, “They’ve shot themselves in the foot and brought about their own ‘ruin and disgrace,’ both militarily and diplomatically.”

He claimed, “It is rare to find people as shallow-minded as the current Seoul leadership,” adding, “This is a foolish, shoddy production—a sequel to their self-staged farce—whose plot revolves around using ‘humanitarian aid’ as a pretext to contrast their ‘benevolent attitude and efforts’ with our ‘rejectionist stance’ in the eyes of the international community.”

He added, “Their ulterior motive is to visibly demonstrate that ‘even though we’ve done everything we can with such “goodwill,” as you can see, the escalation of tensions is not Seoul’s responsibility,’” calling it “abnormal behavior that only an enemy—or a beast—could exhibit.”

Director Kim stated, “The Seoul authorities may have gained one thing, but they have ended up losing two, three, or even ten times as much,” adding, “The farces concocted by Seoul constitute unprecedented political, military, and moral provocations against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”

He went on to reaffirm, “By the mandate of the Head of State and in accordance with the collective will of the Korean people, we will henceforth turn our backs on and ignore South Korea’s human scum even more decisively.”

Director Kim’s mention of having received “authorization from the head of state” appears to be an attempt to emphasize that this hostile stance toward the South reflects the will of State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un.

Earlier, on the afternoon of the 8th, regarding the government’s plan to provide medical equipment to North Korea, Vice Minister Kim had claimed, “Fabricating a landmine explosion incident and then talking about ‘humanitarian aid’ is a two-faced and shameless farce.”

Professor Im In-chul of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University assessed, “They have characterized South Korea’s approach of utilizing UN Security Council sanctions exemptions to provide aid to the North as a ‘measure that demeans the other side as recipients of charity (vulnerable groups).’” He added, “They perceive this as an act that directly shatters the ‘self-reliance’ and ‘normal state’ narratives that the Kim Jong-un regime has boasted about both domestically and internationally.” He continued, “The fact that this was pursued through an ‘open approach’—including the application for a sanctions exemption and public disclosure to the media—is the key factor that triggered Kim Yo-jong’s fierce backlash,” expressing concern that “this incident will double the level of distrust.”

The government has already received approval for a sanctions exemption from the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee on North Korea last May to send medical equipment to the Kangdong County Hospital in Pyongyang, North Korea, through the Korea Foundation for International Health and Medical Cooperation (KOFIH). The aid package consists of 1,431 items across 166 categories, including computed tomography (CT) scanners, X-ray machines, and ambulances. However, the Ministry of Unification explained during a recent parliamentary audit on the 7th that while it had mentioned these details, the specific implementation plan had not yet been discussed with North Korea.