Pyongyang considers the exercises “a dangerous maneuver of a very aggressive nature” against its national security
North Korea warned Monday that it will provide a “firm” military response to joint maneuvers the United States and South Korea conducted over the past week. According to the official North Korean agency, Pyongyang will respond with “sustained, forceful and overwhelming” actions.
The warning comes after a week of high war tensions unprecedented since the Korean War (1950-1953). The neighbors exchanged dozens of missiles — including the communist regime’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that fell into Seoul’s territorial waters — and deployed their respective air forces in an unprecedented hostile escalation.
According to the North Korean agency KCNA, the north’s recent ballistic missile tests were a “clear response” to Washington and Seoul for their military exercises called “Storm Vigilante” last week. Pyongyang considers them “unacceptable” and “aggressive”. These are the largest joint maneuvers these two countries have carried out in history, involving hundreds of aircraft.
Those exercises were “intended to deliberately increase tension in the region and are a dangerous move of a very aggressive nature targeting North Korea directly,” the North Korean military said. “The more persistent the enemy’s provocations, the more thoroughly and ruthlessly the North Korean military will fight them,” the KCNA statement said.
For their part, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said the exercise “demonstrated the ability and willingness to respond vigorously to any North Korean provocation”. Such as the launch of the ICBM, which South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said was “a de facto territorial invasion”.
For the time being, Pyongyang has already taken several actions in response. According to several images released this Monday by the aforementioned agency, the North Korean military has fired several missiles from unknown locations. It also mobilized 500 aircraft and conducted exercises simulating the invasion of a South Korean air base.
According to several analysts, the aerial maneuvers were especially worrisome for Pyongyang, as the air force is one of the weakest points in its military, which lacks both technologically advanced aircraft and experienced pilots. Compared to North Korea’s aging fleet, “Storm Watcher” has deployed some of the most modern American and South Korean fighter jets, including F-35 stealth fighters.
Seoul and Washington expect North Korea to conduct a nuclear test soon, the seventh in its history and the first since 2017.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
