North warns of 'more transparent action' over South-U.S. drills
The state-run Korean Central News Agency accused the Ulchi Freedom Exercise of becoming more dangerous with each iteration, pushing tensions on the Korean Peninsula "to the threshold of a war."
Apache attack helicopters are parked at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 18 during the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.YONHAP
North Korea threatened on Wednesday to respond to the ongoing South Korea-U.S. Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise with stronger measures, warning that it would implement what it calls its right to self-defense through “more transparent action.”
“As the threatening actions of our adversaries continue to evolve, it is necessary to respond with new, more advanced force,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary. “Those who infringe on and threaten the sovereign security of the DPRK will remain in the crosshairs of devastating retaliatory means.”
DPRK is the acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“All the war drills for aggression staged by the enemy states in the Korean Peninsula and the region will never produce the results desired by them,” the KCNA continued.
The state-run news agency did not mention U.S. President Donald Trump’s social media post on Sunday, in which he announced that he had ordered a substantial reduction in joint exercises. He did not note whether South Korean and U.S. military authorities had already discussed how to implement the directive.
Instead, the KCNA accused the UFS of becoming more dangerous with each iteration, citing its ground, sea, air, space and even psychological operations; command post exercises; and field drills.
An Athena-R reconnaissance aircraft taxis for takeoff at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Aug. 18 during the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.YONHAP
“As everybody knows, the […] war drill differs in its mission, form, scale and training methods every time,” it said. “All the elements of the war drill have been developing into extremely dangerous ones, quite different from the past ones.”
The KCNA also singled out the United Nations Command, which is participating in the exercise, and accused it of trying to expand its role into the information, cyber and space domains.
“What is all the more serious is that the U.S.-led ‘UN Command’ [...] is kick-starting in real earnest to revive its combat function and expand its role,” it said. “This is a development that cannot be overlooked.”
Korean Navy personnel and maritime authorities conduct a port-defense drill at the Port of Donghae in Donghae, Gangwon, on Aug. 18 as part of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.ROK NAVY 1ST FLEET
The KCNA said that the exercise was pushing tensions on the Korean Peninsula “to the threshold of a war.”
“[The UFS] will lead to the further deterioration of the situation of the Korean Peninsula and the Asia-Pacific region.”
BY KIM JI-HYE [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
