North Korea condemns USFK's THAAD drill

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployed at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Apr. 24. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

North Korea has condemned a recent anti-ballistic missile defense drill by the United States Forces Korea (USFK), calling it a rash act of military provocation, the North's propaganda media outlets said Friday.

The criticism came about a week after the USFK revealed it staged an exercise last month using the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system deployed in South Korea, at its Camp Humphreys garrison in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.

“The drill is a military provocation that breaks the atmosphere of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Uriminzokkiri, the North's propaganda website, said.

“It would be a stupid misjudgment for the U.S. to believe that the country can achieve its impure intention by testing and threatening the North with power.”

Pyongyang also stepped up pressure on Seoul, urging it to “behave discreetly” over the U.S.'s military exercises on the peninsula.

“An unfavorable result will ensue if the South follows the U.S.'s reckless provocative activities,” the outlet said.

The North's voice of criticism came amid the ongoing deadlock in its nuclear negotiations with the U.S. in the wake of the breakdown of the Hanoi summit in February.

The North refrained from releasing such a provocative statement when the nuclear talks were under way last year.

But with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un failing to reach any agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump during their second meeting in Vietnam's capital, the North resumed delivery of its provocative and menacing messages to the U.S. and the South via propaganda outlets.

Maeari, another propaganda outlet, also ramped up provocative rhetoric against the THAAD drills.

“The U.S.'s military pressure against the North is getting more and more obvious, and the recent THAAD deployment drill is nothing more than a military provocation against neighboring countries,” it said.

With the Hanoi summit ending in failure, Pyongyang is showing signs of returning to its bellicose nature.

But the North is still open to the possibility of a third summit with the U.S. amid intensifying international economic sanctions.