North Korea threatened the U.S. and South Korea on Thursday, saying they will both "pay a dear price" for "provocative war drills."
The annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise in South Korea, an 11-day joint military effort designed to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance, concluded Aug. 29. It reportedly included computer-simulated war games and more than 40 types of field exercises, plus live-fire drills. This year's program was focused on enhancing their readiness against various North Korean threats, including missiles, GPS jamming, and cyberattacks, Stars and Stripes reported. It is one of two large-scale, joint military exercises held annually in South Korea.
"The Korean People's Army will never tolerate the U.S. and ROK's [Republic of Korea's] military moves threatening the security environment on the Korean peninsula," an unnamed North Korean Defense Ministry official said, according to The Korea Times.
"The hostile forces can never evade the heavy responsibility for escalating tension and will have to pay a dear price."
North Korea has long condemned the joint military drills, accusing them of being rehearsals for an invasion against them. The U.S. and South Korea maintain the drills are defensive in nature.
The official also took aim at the allies' other military drills, including Exercise Ssang Yong that started Aug. 26 and ends Friday. The South Korea-U.S. Navy and Marine Corps conducted joint amphibious operations, followed by land-based operations to rehearse eliminating enemy forces, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
"[The exercise] is an extremely reckless and dangerous military racket presupposing an open invasion upon the sacred territory of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]," the North Korean official said.
North Korea remained relatively silent during the Ulchi Freedom Exercise this year, not launching any ballistic missiles or staging other major provocations. The Korea Times reported that the North appears to be focused on recovery efforts after heavy downpours in late July flooded large areas in the northern provinces of Jagang and North Pyongan, displacing thousands of people.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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