▲ 2026 Freedom Edge Exercise Opening Ceremony
North Korea has voiced opposition to U.S.-led joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region, including the regular South Korea-U.S.-Japan multi-domain drill "Freedom Edge," and raised the possibility of counter-measures.
Defense Minister Kim Sung-gi stated in a statement released via the Korean Central News Agency on the night of the 7th that "if the United States and its allies attempt a new military confrontation with us, we will also take powerful and reflexive countermeasures from a position of strength."
Minister Kim expressed discontent over the South Korea-U.S.-Japan "Freedom Edge" exercise which began today, along with the "Orient Shield" exercise to be jointly conducted by the U.S., Japan, and Australia starting tomorrow on the 8th, the deployment of the U.S. military's latest mid-range missile system "Typhon" for this purpose, and the push to deploy the U.S. Army Special Forces' multi-domain task force to South Korea within the year.
He claimed that "the reality that U.S.-led war rehearsals are being carried out consecutively without any spatial or temporal gaps is a grave security threat driving the unstable situation on the Korean Peninsula and beyond to its limit."
Minister Kim also reiterated his will to strengthen military power, stating that "the most appropriate way to powerfully control the escalating and mounting risk of clashes and to firmly safeguard the state's sovereignty and security interests is the continuous application of evolved new responsiveness."
He further emphasized that "it is the consistent military activity principle of the republic's armed forces not to hesitate in the slightest to fulfill their constitutional duty to deter hostile sources threatening national security and punish provocateurs."
He threatened, "Ringing an alarm bell against the reckless military maneuvers of the U.S. and its vassal states and issuing a stern warning against the consequences they will bring, if necessary, we will demonstrate our will and capability to respond to the enemies' maneuvers through more powerful and resolute practical actions."
This statement marks the first to be issued since the defense minister was replaced by Kim Sung-gi.
Previously, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un deliberated on the "issue of changing the duties of key military command personnel" at the 2nd Enlarged Meeting of the 9th Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea on the 29th of last month, dismissing No Kwang-chol as defense minister and appointing Kim Sung-gi, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, as the new defense minister.
(Photo provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Yonhap News)
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