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North warns of 'strategic means' against threats after South-U.S. joint military exercise

Published: 23 Feb. 2025, 14:08

South Korea and the United States conduct joint air drills on Feb. 20. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

North Korea warned Saturday it will mobilize "strategic means" against what it called strategic threats from the United States and other adversaries, in response to a joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States involving a U.S. strategic bomber.

The chief of the press office at North Korea's defense ministry issued a statement after Seoul and Washington staged combined air drills, involving at least one B-1B bomber, on Thursday for the first time since the launch of the Donald Trump administration.

"The DPRK will counter the strategic threat of the United States and other enemies with strategic means and continue its responsible military activities to control and manage the unstable security environment on the Korean Peninsula with powerful deterrence," the official was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency, referring to North Korea using the acronym for its official name.

Pyongyang claimed that since the Trump administration took office last month, the United States has been intensifying its military provocations threatening the security of the North.

North Korea's rapid and accelerating move to bolster its nuclear force is a "realistic requirement for coping with the military threat from the United States and its satellite countries, which are getting more rampant recently," the official argued.

North Korea has long denounced a joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States as a rehearsal for invasion, though the allies said such drills are defensive in nature. Pyongyang has used the Seoul-Washington military drills as a pretext for provocations.

Yonhap