North Korea has threatened military retaliation in response to joint drills by South Korea, the United States and Japan, with the powerful sister of ruler Kim Jong-un and a top military official issuing parallel statements.
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Both denounced the ongoing drills and signalled that Pyongyang was prepared to answer with its own show of force.
“Reckless muscle-flexing by the US, Japan and South Korea in the wrong location, in the surrounding areas next to the DPRK, will definitely bring unfavourable consequences,” Kim Yo-jong said on Sunday, using the abbreviation form of the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Meanwhile, Pak Jong-chon, the North’s top-ranking military figure, accused the allies of staging a “nuclear war rehearsal” and warned that “serious counteractions” would follow. Neither official elaborated on what form North Korea’s response might take.
The warnings coincided with the launch of two major military exercises in South Korea on Monday.
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Freedom Edge, a trilateral, multi-domain exercise involving outdoor operations across land, sea, air and cyberspace, marks the first time the three countries have conducted such manoeuvres since South Korean President Lee Jae-myung took office in June, and US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.