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24-11-2024
PYONGYANG/ SEOUL: North Korea condemned on Saturday recent joint military drills by the United States, South Korea and Japan, warning that it would take immediate actions if needed to defend the state.
Last week, the three countries held a three-day joint exercise, dubbed “Freedom Edge”, featuring fighter jets and marine patrol aircraft as well as the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS George Washington.
“We strongly warn the US and its followers hostile towards the DPRK to immediately stop the hostile acts of further causing provocation and instability that can drive the military confrontation in the Korean peninsula and its vicinity into a real armed conflict,” the North’s defence ministry said, using the country’s official name.
The military would keep all options available and take immediate actions if needed to preemptively control risk, while closely watching military activity by the US and its allies, it said in a statement carried by state media KCNA.
South Korea’s military said it will hold a three-day joint exercise with the United States and Japan starting on Wednesday, featuring fighter jets and marine patrol aircraft as well as the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington.
The “Freedom Edge” exercise is a response to what the South Korean military said were threats from North Korea, which recently conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test, drawing condemnation from Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.
It also comes as the US State Department said North Korean troops have started engaging in combat operations in Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The exercise will include South Korean and Japanese fighter jets and maritime patrol aircraft, as well as the USS George Washington, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
The trilateral exercise follows a first round held earlier this year after the leaders of the three countries agreed at a summit in 2023 to hold annual training drills.
Pyongyang has long condemned joint drills between South Korea and the United States, calling them a rehearsal for invasion.
The trilateral exercise will also include maritime missile defence training and cyber defence training, according to the JCS.
In a statement on Tuesday, the US Air Force said it would retire its A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft in key regions including South Korea in the fiscal year 2025 as part of its modernization strategy.
The aircraft, nicknamed “The Warthog”, was developed for the US Air Force by the Fairchild Republic Company, which is now part of Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), opens new tab, according to the US defence company’s website.
A nuclear-powered U.S. aircraft carrier, the Theodore Roosevelt, arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan on Saturday to take part in joint military exercises later this month with the host nation and Japan, naval officials said.
The leaders of the three countries agreed at a summit last August to hold annual military training drills as they sought to project unity in the face of China’s growing power and nuclear threats from North Korea.
This month’s drills, called “Freedom Edge”, will involve the three countries’ navies and include maritime, anti-submarine warfare exercises and air defence exercises, said US Rear Admiral Christopher Alexander, commander of the Carrier Strike Group Nine.
“The intent is to improve the interoperability between our navies and ensure that we are ready to respond to any crisis or contingency,” he told a press conference, saying the Theodore Roosevelt would serve as the command ship for the drills. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
