North Korea has condemned upcoming joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States as a “direct military provocation” and vowed retaliation. Defence Minister No Kwang Chol warned that the drills, set to run for 11 days, pose a “real and dangerous threat” to national security.
The allies announced that a key portion of the exercise will be postponed until next month due to weather conditions—a move widely viewed as part of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to cool tensions since his June election victory.
Relations between the Koreas have been at their most strained in years, with Pyongyang advancing its nuclear programme and strengthening military cooperation with Russia. Despite publicly rejecting offers for talks, the North has recently made gestures suggesting it may be open to reciprocal steps to ease hostilities.
