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'Self-destructive action': North Korea warns US, South Korea over military drills

WION Web Team
South KoreaUpdated: Aug 10, 2021, 08:40 AM IST
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Photograph:(AFP)

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The US said the military drills were part of a mutual agreement even as North Korea asserted it will boost "strong pre-emptive strike capability" to address the external threats.
 

As the United States and South Korean military prepare their joint military drills, North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un said the US and South Korea "will face a more serious security threat by ignoring our repeated warnings to push ahead with the dangerous war exercises."

"The drills are an unwelcome, self-destructive action," North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency quoted Jong as saying.

Kim Yo Jong described the military drills as "treacherous" asserting that North Korea considers it rehearsals for invasion.

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"I take this opportunity to express my strong regret for the treacherous treatment of the South Korean authorities," the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un said.

US and South Korean military will begin their preliminary training today as they carry out full military exercises next week

However, US Department of Defense spokesman Martin Meiners asserted that the drills were a "mutual agreement". The US has several thousand troops stationed in South Korea since the 1950-1953 Korean War which is still under armistice without a permanent peace deal.

Kim Yo Jong said North Korea will strive for "practical deterrence" while stating that it was imperative for the country to "build-up power to strongly contain external threats".

Although both North and South Koren leaders had met in Singapore in 2018 during Trump's presidency but the second summit between the former US president and Kim collapsed in Hanoi as the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula continued to remain questionable.

North Korea has largely cut off ties with its neighbours while beefing up its arsenal as Kim demanded that peace would only be possible in the Korean peninsula if the US dismantled its military force across the border.

Kim Yo Jong said North Korea will maintain "absolute deterrence" "strong pre-emptive strike capability" due to the US military threat.

(With inputs from Agencies)