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Acting defense chief urges 'firm readiness' against North Korean threats during drills inspection

Published: 13 Mar. 2025, 18:29 Updated: 13 Mar. 2025, 18:45

Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho, right, greets military personnel during a visit to the Ground Operations Command on March 13. [YONHAP]

Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho on Thursday called for a firm defense posture against North Korea's military threats as he inspected an annual South Korea-U.S. combined exercise currently under way, the defense ministry said.

Kim made the call as he visited the Ground Operations Command to encourage South Korean and U.S. troops taking part in the 11-day Freedom Shield exercise, which runs through March 20, according to the ministry.

"This exercise is meaningful as it reflects evolving North Korean nuclear threats and new tactical trends of modern warfare, such as drone attacks," Kim was quoted as saying.

"Maintain a firm military readiness posture that can sternly and immediately respond to the enemy's direct provocation during the exercise period," he instructed.

His remarks came as North Korea has been releasing ongoing condemnations of the allies' springtime exercise, calling it a "dangerous provocative act."

North Korea has long denounced the allies' combined drills as "rehearsals for an invasion" against it and has a track record of staging weapons tests in response.

The North fired multiple ballistic missiles, believed to be close-range ballistic missiles, toward the Yellow Sea on Monday, the first day of the exercise.

Yonhap