The North Korean Foreign Ministry has accused the United States of “knowingly” raising tensions by organizing joint air maneuvers with South Korea, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday.
“Despite our repeated warnings, the United States knowingly continues to escalate the situation,” the ministry said in a statement dated Monday. “The recent joint air exercises (…) clearly show that the plan to use nuclear weapons against the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, editor’s note) is proceeding at the pace of a real war”.
On Friday, North Korea announced that it had fired cruise missiles the day before, saying that the intensification of US-South Korean military exercises “can be considered a declaration of war”.
“defensive” maneuvers
This statement came after the two allies conducted a simulation exercise in Washington of a nuclear conflict with North Korea. The United States and South Korea have explained that the future joint maneuvers were defensive, but Pyongyang sees it as a repetition of an invasion.
“We deeply regret the irresponsible and disturbing moves by the United States and South Korea, which constantly push the situation on the Korean Peninsula towards instability,” the ministry quoted KCNA as saying.
North Korea calls for “an immediate halt to hostile military actions that disturb peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the statement said.
“If the dangerous military provocations of the United States and South Korea continue (…) there is no guarantee that there will not be a violent confrontation on the Korean peninsula where huge armies are fighting against each other. tense face-to-face”.