North Korea Threatens Retaliation Over U.S.-South Korea Military Drills

North Korea Threatens Retaliation Over U.S.-South Korea Military Drills

🚨🇰🇵🇰🇷🇺🇸 North Korea has threatened to take retaliatory military measures in response to the ongoing U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), which began on August 17.

Pyongyang warned on Wednesday that it would more actively exercise what it calls its right to self-defense, describing the annual drills as a serious threat to North Korea and regional security.

According to North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise represents “the most immediate and overt threat” facing the country. Pyongyang claims the drills involve U.S. forces deployed from other regions, as well as troops from countries participating in the United Nations Command.

North Korea also accused Washington and Seoul of conducting military operations across multiple domains, including land, maritime, air, space, cyber and information warfare.

Pyongyang warned that it would continue strengthening and implementing military measures until the United States and South Korea abandon what it describes as attempts to alter the balance of military power in Northeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

The latest warning adds to already heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea routinely condemning large-scale U.S.-South Korean military exercises as preparations for a potential invasion, while Washington and Seoul maintain that the drills are defensive in nature.