The Ministry of Unification assessed today (September 8) that North Korea's late-night statement criticizing the South Korea-U.S.-Japan "Freedom Edge" multi-domain joint exercise, now in its third year, is an extension of its reactions over the past two years.

Meeting with reporters at the Government Complex Seoul today, a Unification Ministry official addressed the statement issued last night in the name of North Korean Defense Minister Kim Sung-gi, stating, "It is an extension of the ongoing criticism against recent South Korea-U.S. joint exercises and military cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., Japan, and Australia-U.S.-Japan frameworks." The official added, "Given that North Korea has consistently criticized the Freedom Edge exercise in the past, we view this latest statement by the defense minister as a routine level of response just to address the matter."

When Freedom Edge was first conducted in June 2024, North Korea condemned it through a press statement by the Foreign Ministry's Department of Foreign Policy, and in November of that year, then-Workers' Party Deputy Department Director Kim Yo-jong criticized it via a statement.

In November of last year, Deputy Director Kim and Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party, protested through a series of consecutive statements.

The Unification Ministry is reportedly interpreting expressions included in the latest statement—such as "if they attempt a new military confrontation" and "if necessary"—as an intention to signal a conditional willingness to retaliate.

Asked what might account for the adjusted level of protest against the Freedom Edge exercise, the official said, "Judging solely by the reaction on the first day, it is at a level of simply acknowledging and moving past it, but we will monitor whether additional reactions follow."

Recently, North Korea has tended to characterize South Korea-U.S. or trilateral joint exercises as a manifestation of the U.S. "hostile policy toward North Korea." However, perhaps because the statement released yesterday was issued under the name of the defense minister, it did not contain any mentions of a hostile policy toward the North or messages directly linked to U.S.-North Korea relations.

In a statement released via the Korean Central News Agency last night, North Korean Defense Minister Kim Sung-gi cited the trilateral Freedom Edge exercise and the U.S.-Japan-Australia Orient Shield exercise, threatening, "If the United States and its allies attempt a new military confrontation with us, we will also take powerful and responsive countermeasures from a position of strength."

(Photo: Yonhap News)