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 drills are continuing than on the recent decision to reduce their scale, Pyongyang's state media reported.

Kim Yo-jong made the remark after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the scaling back of Ulchi Freedom Shield, an ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise that began on Monday.

"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 North's official Korean Central News Agency.