N. Korea warns Seoul of ‘serious threat’

The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called the South Korean defense minister a “scum-like guy” for talking about preemptive strikes on the North, warning Sunday that the South may face “a serious threat.”

Kim Yo Jong’s statement came amid heightened tensions between the rival Koreas over the North’s spate of weapons tests this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile launch in more than four years. Some experts say her statement could signal that North Korea will conduct more significant weapons tests soon and take a hardline stance on South Korea.

The ICBM test that broke North Korea’s four-year moratorium on big weapons tests was a huge embarrassment to South Korea’s liberal President Moon Jae-in, who has pushed hard to achieve greater reconciliation between the countries and find a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear crisis.