SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, issued a stern rebuke to South Korea on Monday, condemning recent front-line live-fire drills as "suicidal hysteria" and warning of potential military responses if provoked further.

Kim's statement followed South Korea's decision to resume firing exercises near its tense borders with North Korea over the past fortnight. These drills, the first of their kind since South Korea suspended a 2018 agreement aimed at easing military tensions along the front lines in June, have reignited friction between the two nations.

"The question remains why the enemy initiated such war drills near the border — an act of suicidal hysteria that will only bring disastrous consequences upon themselves," Kim Yo Jong stated in a release carried by state media, directly addressing South Korea's actions.

She accused South Korea's conservative government of deliberately stoking tensions to distract from domestic political challenges. Kim emphasized the perilous context of the drills, set against what she described as an increasingly volatile backdrop exacerbated by recent trilateral military exercises involving the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, which North Korea views as a security threat.

"In the event that we determine they have violated our sovereignty or committed an act tantamount to a declaration of war, our armed forces will promptly execute their duties as mandated by the North Korean constitution," Kim Yo Jong cautioned, though she refrained from specifying potential military actions.

Later in the day, Koo Byoungsam, a spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry, dismissed Kim's remarks as an attempt to sow internal discord within South Korea. He underscored that North Korea should address its own human rights violations and international isolation arising from its nuclear program.

Meanwhile, South Korea's Defense Ministry affirmed its commitment to proceeding with scheduled live-fire drills, refraining from disclosing specific details regarding their timing and locations.

Since 2022, North Korea has conducted a series of provocative weapons tests, including claims of successful missile launches featuring a "super-large warhead" and multiwarhead systems. However, South Korean officials and experts have cast doubt on these assertions, suggesting possible fabrication to conceal failed tests.

Tensions heightened earlier in June when South Korea fully suspended the 2018 inter-Korean military pact, following North Korea's objections to political leaflets disseminated across the border by South Korean activists using balloons. The now-suspended agreement, forged during a brief period of inter-Korean rapprochement, aimed to halt adversarial activities such as live-fire drills and psychological warfare along the border.

The agreement had faced increasing strain, with both Koreas engaging in actions that violated its terms amid ongoing hostilities, including North Korea's launch of a surveillance satellite in November of the previous year.