403
Sorry!!
Error! We're sorry, but the page you were looking for doesn't exist.
North Korea Warns of 'Consequences' Over US-Japan-Seoul Drills
(MENAFN) North Korea lashed out Monday at a five-day trilateral military exercise involving the United States, South Korea and Japan, warning of consequences over what it called Washington's escalating and provocative military activity on the Korean Peninsula.
The fourth round of the Freedom Edge exercise kicked off with an opening ceremony at Yokota Air Base in Japan and is set to run through Friday, according to US Pacific Command. The drills are unfolding in international waters and airspace south of South Korea, as well as at military bases and command posts across Japan, with a focus on interoperability across air, maritime and cyber domains alongside integrated air and missile defense.
South Korea has cast the exercise as defensive, framing it as a way to bolster deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Pyongyang rejected that characterization, condemning the trilateral drills as a threat to itself and other countries in the region. In a Defense Ministry statement carried by a North Korean news agency, North Korea accused Washington of pursuing "military provocations" and vowed to take "response measures."
North Korean Defense Minister Kim Song Ji issued "a note of warning against the reckless military moves of the US and its satellite countries to create a serious military confrontation and possibility of conflict on the Korean Peninsula," according to the statement. He also "solemnly" warned of "the consequences to be entailed by them," the news agency reported.
The statement added that there would be no shift in Pyongyang's approach of meeting US hostility with the "toughest stand to the last."
The exercise comes weeks after US President Donald Trump said on Aug. 17 that he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" a separate set of planned bilateral military exercises between the US and South Korea, citing their cost as well as his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said those drills had sent an "inappropriate and hostile" signal to Pyongyang.
The fourth round of the Freedom Edge exercise kicked off with an opening ceremony at Yokota Air Base in Japan and is set to run through Friday, according to US Pacific Command. The drills are unfolding in international waters and airspace south of South Korea, as well as at military bases and command posts across Japan, with a focus on interoperability across air, maritime and cyber domains alongside integrated air and missile defense.
South Korea has cast the exercise as defensive, framing it as a way to bolster deterrence and response capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Pyongyang rejected that characterization, condemning the trilateral drills as a threat to itself and other countries in the region. In a Defense Ministry statement carried by a North Korean news agency, North Korea accused Washington of pursuing "military provocations" and vowed to take "response measures."
North Korean Defense Minister Kim Song Ji issued "a note of warning against the reckless military moves of the US and its satellite countries to create a serious military confrontation and possibility of conflict on the Korean Peninsula," according to the statement. He also "solemnly" warned of "the consequences to be entailed by them," the news agency reported.
The statement added that there would be no shift in Pyongyang's approach of meeting US hostility with the "toughest stand to the last."
The exercise comes weeks after US President Donald Trump said on Aug. 17 that he had directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" a separate set of planned bilateral military exercises between the US and South Korea, citing their cost as well as his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump said those drills had sent an "inappropriate and hostile" signal to Pyongyang.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any
responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos,
licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues
related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Comments
No comment