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SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Yonhap) -- The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Wednesday that Pyongyang is more focused on the fact that South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises are continuing than on the recent decision to reduce the scale, Pyongyang's state media reported.

Kim Yo-jong made the remarks as South Korea and the United States are scaling down their annual combined exercise at Washington's request after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the drills to be reduced.

"We are paying greater attention to the reality that joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea have continued and are still ongoing, and this is an unmistakable expression of hostility toward North Korea," Kim said in an announcement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

"Reducing the scale or duration of the drills does not change the provocative and aggressive nature of the military exercises," she added, stressing that Pyongyang has "no interest whatsoever" in Trump's move.

The allies will conclude the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise Friday, cutting its initially planned 11-day duration nearly in half, according to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Defense Department. The UFS was initially scheduled to run from Aug. 17-27.

Kim Yo-jong also said she was "unaware" of any recent communication between the leaders of the U.S. and North Korea.

"It is something I know absolutely nothing about," she said.

Trump said Monday the North Korean leader had responded to his overture for dialogue and that his conversation with Kim was "very positive."

Kim Yo-jong added that the North Korean leader has good personal memories and feelings toward Trump but stressed that the U.S. is still carrying out hostile military activities against the North.

"Regardless of the excellent relationship between the leaders of North Korea and the U.S., the sovereign measures we are taking to deter the forces threatening our national security are completely reasonable, appropriate and necessary," she said.

On Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's recent announcement that North Korea is planning to deploy additional troops, she dismissed it as "completely groundless."

julesyi@yna.co.kr

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