N. Korea warns of bolstering nuclear deterrent over US' new nuclear strategy
Summary
North Korea on Friday warned it would respond with a new level of deterrent to the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States. The foreign ministry said the drills show Washington’s aim to prepare for substantial military confrontation and said Pyongyang will defend its security with the most powerful force. It also said North Korea will not tolerate the grave confrontational situation created by the enemy states.
Key Facts
- South Korea and the United States are set to begin the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise on Monday and continue it until Aug. 27.
- North Korea said the U.S. described the exercise as different from the past five years and tied it to mastering modern warfare tactics.
- The statement said North Korea would respond to a new level of threat with a new level of deterrent.
- The unification ministry said this was Pyongyang’s first official response this year to the annual exercise.
- North Korea launched missiles toward the East Sea last Thursday and again on Wednesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center right, inspects a newly launched nuclear material production facility at an unspecified location, June 3, in this image released by the Korean Central News Agency the following day. Yonhap
North Korea on Friday denounced an upcoming joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States, warning it will respond to the drills "with a new level of a deterrent."
A spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry made the statement, as South Korea and the U.S. are set to begin the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise starting Monday until Aug. 27.
North Korea said the U.S. had described the annual exercise as "quite different from the ones of the past five years," framing it as Washington's effort to master modern warfare tactics, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
"By doing so, it did not conceal its aim to complete preparations for the substantial military confrontation with" North Korea, the statement read.
"It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent," it said.
The statement stressed Pyongyang "remains steadfast in its will to frustrate outsiders' hostile acts with the most powerful and overwhelming force and absolutely defend the supreme interests of the state security."
"The DPRK will not tolerate the grave confrontational situation which is being created by the enemy states but more clearly express its stance on the enemies to cope with any threats and challenges through the responsible and decisive exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense," it added.
DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Pyongyang has strongly denounced the allies' drills as war rehearsals and conducted its own weapons tests around the exercise in protest. It launched missiles toward the East Sea last Thursday and again on Wednesday.
The unification ministry said the statement marked Pyongyang's first official response this year to the annual exercise, noting that such exercises have typically drawn immediate criticism from the North.
Given past patterns, North Korea is expected to continue issuing similar denunciations and stage provocations until the exercise concludes, it added.
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