North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army, at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, February 8, 2023. KCNA/REUTERS
The joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea infuriate Pyongyang, which sees them as rehearsals for an invasion.
North Korea threatened on Friday February 17 to react with force “unprecedentedto joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, describing them as preparations for war.
The two allies will discuss, during these exercises, which will take place next week in the American capital, the responses to be made in the event of the use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang. If Washington and Seoul implement these exercises, “they will be confronted with countermeasures (…) strong and unprecedentedsaid a spokesperson for the North Korean Foreign Ministry in a statement.
Ballistic missile launches
Seoul hopes to appease its population, which is increasingly nervous about the North, which has redoubled its efforts in terms of military development over the past year. Kim Jong-un also said last year that his country’s nuclear power status was “irreversible“, and has since carried out regular nuclear tests, including intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) firings despite the sanctions imposed by the international community.
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The joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea infuriate Pyongyang, which sees them as rehearsals for an invasion. Pyongyang’s reaction reflects the importance of the drills, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul. These will make it possible to assess the extent to which the American nuclear arsenal will be involved in the deterrence vis-à-vis North Korea, he told AFP.
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