North Korea slams dangerous' drills by US, Japan, South Korea

"Kim Yo Jong, who is vice department director of the North Korean governing party's central committee, slammed the drills as a dangerous idea. This reminds us that the reckless display of power displayed by the US, Japan, and South Korea in the wrong places, namely around the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will undoubtedly bring about negative consequences for themselves, Kim Yo Jong said, using the official name for North Korea."

"The statement follows a visit by her brother to weapons research facilities this week, where he said Pyongyang would put forward the policy of simultaneously pushing forward the building of nuclear forces and conventional armed forces. North Korea perceives the trilateral drills as scenarios for limited or full-scale nuclear strikes and attempts to neutralise its launch platforms, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the AFP news agency."

North Korea condemned upcoming joint US-Japan-South Korea military exercises as dangerous and a reckless display of power that will bring negative consequences. The drills, named Freedom Edge, combine naval, air and missile-defence exercises off South Korea's Jeju Island and will last through Friday. The criticism followed a leader's visit to weapons research facilities and a declared policy to advance both nuclear and conventional armed forces simultaneously. Analysts say North Korea perceives the trilateral drills as scenarios for limited or full-scale nuclear strikes and attempts to neutralise launch platforms. The North is likely to use the exercises as a pretext to accelerate nuclear modernisation and conventional upgrades. The US and South Korea also plan Iron Mace tabletop exercises to integrate conventional and nuclear capabilities against perceived threats.

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