North Korea Threatens New Deterrent Over 10-Day US-South Korea Drills
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 14
North Korea Threatens New Deterrent Over 10-Day US-South Korea Drills
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 14
Summary
North Korea said Friday it would answer a “new level of threat” with a “new level of deterrent” as the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises begin August 17 and run through August 27.
The warning targeted expanded US-South Korea drills that will rehearse responses to drones, GPS disruption and cyberattacks, with Pyongyang calling wider US-Japan-South Korea cooperation a nuclear alliance.
18,000 South Korean troops will join counterparts from the 28,500-strong US force in the annual exercise, which US and South Korean commanders say has been updated for modern warfare.
US officials say North Korea’s threat has evolved after sending an estimated 12,000-15,000 troops to Russia’s war in Ukraine, where battlefield lessons were brought back to the peninsula.
The statement follows two North Korean ballistic missile launches in eight days and a separate Friday pledge to further strengthen its nuclear deterrence.