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North Korea on Thursday threatened the toughest reaction to the United States’ expanding joint military exercises with South Korea to counter the North’s growing nuclear weapons ambitions, claiming that the allies were pushing tensions to an extreme red line.
The statement by Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry came in response to comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who during a visit to Seoul on Tuesday said the United States would increase its deployment of advanced military assets to the Korean Peninsula, including fighter jets and aircraft carriers, as it strengthens joint training with South Korea.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the United States flew B-1B bombers and F-22 and F-35 fighter jets in a joint aerial exercise with South Korean fighters on Wednesday, which it said was aimed at demonstrating the United States’ commitment to defend its ally with the full range of its military capabilities. The United States and South Korea are also planning to hold a simulated exercise this month aimed at sharpening their response if North Korea uses nuclear weapons.
In a statement attributed to an unidentified spokesperson of its Foreign Ministry, North Korea said the expansion of the allies’ drills is threatening to turn the Korean Peninsula into a huge war arsenal and a more critical war zone. The statement said the North is prepared to counter any short-term or long-term military challenge by the allies with the most overwhelming nuclear force.
North Korea for decades has described the United States’ combined military exercises with South Korea as rehearsals for a potential invasion, although the allies have described those drills as defensive. North Korea last year ramped up its own weapons demonstrations as the allies resumed their large-scale training that had been downsized for years.
