North Korea threatens ‘resolute’ military response to US-led drills
Pyongyang’s recent ballistic missile tests were a “clear answer” to Washington and Seoul over their joint exercises last week, and the tests were “corresponding military operations,” North Korea said in a statement.
US-South Korean military exercises have long provoked strong reactions from North Korea, which sees them as rehearsals for an invasion.
North Korea said it would respond to joint exercises by the United States and South Korea with "sustained, resolute and overwhelming" military measures, the state's news agency KCNA has reported.
Monday's warning came amid a spate of missile tests by North Korea in recent weeks, including four ballistic missiles fired on Saturday, days after the United States and South Korea concluded their biggest-ever air force drills.
A statement from the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said it "will continue to correspond with all the anti-DPRK war drills of the enemy with the sustained, resolute and overwhelming practical military measures," using an acronym for North Korea's official name, KCNA said.
The statement also noted the North's recent ballistic missile tests were a "clear answer" to Washington and Seoul over their joint exercises last week, calling the tests "corresponding military operations".
"The more persistently the enemies' provocative military moves continue, the more thoroughly and mercilessly the KPA will counter them," the statement said.
READ MORE: China links North Korea missile tests to US, South Korea drills
Full KCNA statement below. Finally, we get some details about North Korea's wild week of missile launches, etc. pic.twitter.com/S8CekY6uYK
— William Gallo (@GalloVOA) November 6, 2022
US-South Korean military drills
Hundreds of US and South Korean warplanes — including powerful B-1B heavy bombers — participated in the Vigilant Storm exercises last week, in the first time B-1Bs have flown to the Korean peninsula since December 2017.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff had said the move demonstrated the "capability and readiness to firmly respond to any provocations from North Korea".
Such military exercises have long provoked strong reactions from North Korea, which sees them as rehearsals for an invasion.
The recent flurry of North Korean launches has included an intercontinental ballistic missile and one that landed near the South's territorial waters.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has called the barrage "effectively a territorial invasion".
READ MORE: Japan orders residents to shelter as North Korea missiles soar again
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