The North Korean military stated that its response to US-South Korean war drills would be “resolute and overwhelming”, state media reported. The warning came after a spate of North Korean weapons tests last week including an intercontinental ballistic missile as the United States and South Korea conducted their biggest-ever air force exercise.
The United States and South Korea have warned that such missile launches could culminate in a nuclear test by North Korea.
The North Korean military, formally known as the Korean People’s Army (KPA), said it was responding to Vigilant Storm — the US-South Korean exercise — describing it as “an open provocation”, according to the official.
Vigilant Storm was “aimed at intentionally escalating the tension in the region and a dangerous war drill of very high aggressive nature directly targeting” North Korea.
North Korea will respond to all “anti-DPRK war drills” with “sustained, resolute and overwhelming” measures, it said. The United States has dismissed criticism of the exercise as North Korean propaganda, saying it posed no threat to other nations.
One ballistic missile was launched to test “a special functional warhead paralyzing the operation command system of the enemy”, the KPA said, without providing any further details about that weapon. The North Korean air force also conducted a “large-scale all-out combat sortie operation”, involving 500 planes, according to KCNA.—INP
