On November 23, Pyongyang condemned the US for conducting joint military exercises and deploying weapons on the Korean Peninsula, warning that such actions could escalate into real war at any time.
 |
| North Korea criticizes the Freedom Edge 2024 trilateral military exercise involving the US, South Korea and Japan. (Source: mod.go.jp) |
The head of the North Korean Defense Ministry's information department issued a statement condemning the three-way Freedom Edge exercise involving the United States, South Korea and Japan, as well as the recent visit of a US nuclear-powered submarine to a major naval base in South Korea.
The statement noted: "The US military moves against the DPRK may lead to an actual war situation at any moment."
Pyongyang also stressed that taking self-defense measures to protect the national security environment and maintain strategic stability and balance of power in the region is North Korea's constitutional duty.
South Korea, the United States and Japan concluded their three-day Freedom Edge trilateral exercise in international waters south of South Korea's Jeju Island on November 15. On November 18, the 6,000-ton submarine USS Columbia docked at the South Korean naval port of Busan.
In another related development, on November 22, a senior US official said that Washington believes North Korea is ready for its 7th nuclear test and is now only waiting for a "political decision" to proceed, while warning that another nuclear test would mark a "serious" escalation of tensions in the region.
Speaking at a forum organized by the Korea Society, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability Alexandra Bell emphasized the "ironclad" US security commitment to South Korea and the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
She said: "The United States assesses that the DPRK has prepared the Punggye-ri test site for a potential seventh nuclear test, pending a political decision to proceed...".
US officials have also criticized Pyongyang's weapons tests this year, including the test of a new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), as violations of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/trieu-tien-canh-bao-gat-ve-tap-tran-3-ben-my-nhat-han-washington-nhac-lai-cam-ket-an-ninh-vung-chac-nhu-thep-voi-seoul-294830.html
Comment (0)