North Korea’s defence ministry has warned that US and South Korean military exercises in the region involving American B-1B bombers will lead to negative consequences for themselves, Korean media reported on Thursday.
The North Korean ministry stressed that “bluff military actions by the US” are endangering the country’s sovereignty and the state of affairs on the peninsula. Pyongyang “through the use of overwhelming deterrence forces” will make Washington realise that increasing the level of provocations against the DPRK will lead to an increased level of danger to the United States.
“The armed forces of the DPRK will by no means allow the slightest threat of hostile forces to the sovereignty of the state’s security and will deter the aggressive intentions of the United States with powerful force,” the statement said.
The US and South Korean air forces have begun a joint Freedom Flag exercise involving about 90 aircraft and more than 1,000 troops, aimed at improving the allies’ coherence.
South Korea will use F-35A, F-15K and KF-16 aircraft in the exercise, while the US will use F-16, F-35B and MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones. The main feature of the training will be the role of low-observable fighters such as the F-35 as a notional adversary.
In March, the US Army and South Korean military conducted an exercise to block and take underground tunnels and bunkers in North Korea using drones and four-legged robotic dogs. The exercise used state-of-the-art military technology, including South Korean drones and four-legged walking robots.
