North Korea Warns of "Explicit Counterstance" Against S. Korea-U.S. UFS Exercises

North Korea has reacted strongly against the upcoming South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), scheduled to begin on the 17th, claiming that the drills have been elevated into an "aggressive war practice" compared to last year, and warned that its "counterstance" will be clearly expressed.

North Korea published a statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson containing these claims, dated yesterday (the 13th), in the Rodong Sinmun read by the public today.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson claimed, "The United States has not hidden the fact that the purpose of this joint military exercise is to complete preparations for actual military confrontation with our state, openly stating that these drills are clearly different from those of the past five years and that their focus lies on mastering war execution capabilities based on new aspects of modern warfare."

Mentioning the situations in Europe and the Middle East, the spokesperson emphasized, "The large-scale war drills between the U.S. and South Korea, which are unfolding once again at this juncture, are triggering security instability at a level different from previous years on the Korean Peninsula and beyond."

The spokesperson stated, "Due to the aggressive war drills by hostile countries, whose provocative nature and danger have been elevated once again compared to last year, serious threats are being created against our state's security domain and the regional security environment," adding, "Applying a new level of deterrence to a new level of threat is our consistent security guarantee principle."

The spokesperson also warned, "Our counterstance to thoroughly reject any threats and challenges will be expressed more explicitly."

South Korea and the United States will conduct the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, a regular joint drill for defending the Korean Peninsula in the event of a contingency, from August 17 to 27.

Seoul and Washington stated that this exercise reflects realistic situations, such as recent combat lessons learned analyses, and will serve as an opportunity to strengthen the alliance's combined defense posture, including "combined and joint all-domain operations."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.