North Korea on Sunday condemned recent joint military drills by the US, Japan, and South Korea, calling them a direct threat to regional stability and warning of "grave consequences," according to state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
In a statement issued by the Ministry of National Defense, Pyongyang criticized a joint air drill conducted Friday involving US B-52H bombers, South Korean KF-16s, and Japan's F-2 fighter jets.
"We express grave concern over the hostile actions of the US, Japan, and South Korea that continue to carry out provocative and threatening military actions while deliberately ignoring the security concerns of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the statement said. "We strongly warn of the grave consequences that this will have on the regional situation."
North Korea accused the US of ramping up deployments of strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula and said the strengthening trilateral alliance could trigger an "unpredictable military confrontation."
The statement warned that Pyongyang reserves the right to take "reflexive countermeasures" to defend its sovereignty, adding: "A credible, overwhelming military capability remains our only realistic deterrent."
"Our armed forces are always maintaining a high level of military readiness to block collective provocations by the United States and its followers, suppress invasion attempts, and effectively respond to acts of war," it added.
The joint drills coincided with a meeting in Seoul of the top military commanders from the US, Japan, and South Korea, who reviewed regional security dynamics and discussed ways to deepen trilateral defense cooperation.
"On the same day, they held a meeting of the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US, Japan, and South Korea, openly revealing their intention to further accelerate three-party military cooperation targeting us and other regional countries," the statement said.
