North Korea warns of action over military exercise

North Korea warned on Thursday of “aggressive action” over an expansion of US military exercises with rival South Korea. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden’s special representative on North Korea has arrived in Seoul (South Korea’s capital) for talks with allies on his (North Korea’s) growing nuclear threat. North Korea’s statement comes a day after the US sent nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Korean Peninsula for joint military exercises, the latest show of strength by the two against North Korea.

North Korea considers this a practice of aggression. Hostilities between them have escalated in recent weeks as US-South Korea military drills and North Korea’s weapons tests escalated. North Korea’s official news agency, the Korean Central News Agency, said that military exercises between the US and South Korea and the deployment of advanced US military weapons have turned the Korean Peninsula into a ‘powder keg that could explode at any time’. The news agency quoted an expert as saying, “The provocative military action by war fans led by the US has crossed the limits of tolerance.” This reality awaits a clear answer from (North Korea’s) military capability.