Seoul, South Korea –
North Korea threatened on Friday to take “unprecedented” forceful action against its rivals, shortly after South Korea announced a series of military drills had been planned with the United States aimed at hone their joint response to North Korea’s growing nuclear threats.
North Korea has halted weapons testing activities since it launched a short-range missile on January 1, although it has launched more than 70 missiles by 2022 – a record number in a year. Friday’s warning suggested the North’s testing could soon resume during adversaries’ military training, what they see as an invasion maneuver.
“In the event that the US and South Korea carry out the announced military exercise plan that (North Korea), with only apprehension and reason, considers it a preparation for a war of aggression, they will face unprecedentedly strong and persistent reactions,” North Korea said. South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media.
The statement accused South Korea and the United States of planning more than 20 rounds of military exercises, including their largest-ever drills. It called South Korea and the United States “criminals who deliberately disrupt” regional peace and stability.
“This predicts that the situation in the Korean Peninsula and the region will again fall into a spiral of serious escalation,” the statement said.
It did not specify which US-South Korean military training it referred to. But North Korea often criticizes all the major routine military exercises between Washington and Seoul as a practice to launch an invasion and respond with weapons tests of its own.
Some experts suggest that North Korea has used numerous South Korean-US military exercises as an opportunity to test and perfect its weapons systems. They say North Korea will ultimately aim to use its expanding nuclear arsenal to win international recognition as a legitimate nuclear state and win sanctions and concessions. other set.
Seoul and Washington say their training is defensive in nature.
Earlier on Friday, Heo Tae-keun, South Korea’s deputy minister in charge of defense policy, told lawmakers that Seoul and Washington will hold an annual combined computer simulation training in mid-March. Heo said the 11-day training would reflect North Korea’s nuclear threats, as well as unspecified lessons from the Russo-Ukrainian War.
Heo said the two countries will also conduct joint exercises in mid-March, on a larger scale than those held in the past few years.
The allies have scaled back or canceled some of their regular exercises in recent years as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic and to support the now stalled foreign policy of North Korea’s nuclear program. Tien.
Earlier on Friday, Seoul officials said South Korea and the United States will hold a one-day military exercise next week at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, to strengthen response to the potential use of weapons. North Korean nuclear. South Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement the drills scheduled for Wednesday will establish possible scenarios when North Korea uses nuclear weapons, learn how to deal with them militarily and develop crisis management plans.
Seoul’s security concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program deepened after Pyongyang last year passed a law authorizing the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons and the test of missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. put Korea in attack range.
In response to North Korea’s growing threats, South Korea and the United States have expanded joint military exercises and stepped up pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear program. In January, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US would also increase the deployment of advanced weapons such as fighter jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula.
During their annual meeting in November, Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup agreed to conduct annual drills and further strengthen information sharing, joint planning and implementation. of the union. Austin reiterated his warning that any nuclear attack against the United States or its allies would lead to the collapse of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime.
