North Korea threatens to respond to unprecedented US-South Korea joint military exercise

North Korea has condemned the upcoming unprecedented joint military exercises between the US and South Korea, warning of a corresponding response.

The United States and South Korea "will face a befitting response to their insane nuclear war intentions," North Korea's state news agency KCNA said today, adding that drills aimed at a "nuclear power" were "utter nonsense".

The comments came after South Korea announced on May 6 that it and the United States would hold their "largest-ever" joint live-fire drills to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the South Korean military. The drills are scheduled to take place from May 25 to June 15 at the Seungjin training ground in Pocheon, 52 km northeast of Seoul.

North Korea called it a "continuation and expansion of anti-Pyongyang war drills" held just a few kilometers from the border between the two Koreas. Pyongyang stressed that it had a "legitimate right" to equip itself with more powerful defense measures to cope with the grave situation and potential threats.

US and South Korean soldiers during the Ssangyong landing exercise in Pohang, South Korea on March 29. Photo: Reuters

The upcoming joint exercise between the US and South Korea is expected to use many modern weapons systems, such as F-35A stealth fighters, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, K2 tanks and Chunmoo rocket artillery.

The exercise comes amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The US has recently deployed a number of strategic weapons to South Korea, including bombers and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, and has conducted joint exercises and drills with Japan and South Korea to deter North Korea.

The military activities of the US and its allies have angered North Korea, which has launched a series of missiles, including its first test of a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, marking a major technical breakthrough. North Korea also unveiled its miniaturized nuclear warhead, the Hwasan-31, in late March.

North Korea has repeatedly criticized the joint US-South Korea military exercises, viewing them as evidence of the alliance's hostile stance and desire to change Pyongyang's regime. Meanwhile, Washington and Seoul insist the exercises are purely defensive in nature.