North Korea on Tuesday denounced joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, seeing them as evidence of a plan to "occupy" the peninsula and a direct threat to its interests and those of its allies in the region, North Korean state media reported.
Kim Yong Bok, first vice chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, warned of "serious consequences" if the exercises continued. "If they persist in military rehearsal, they will definitely face an unpleasant situation and pay a heavy price," he said, according to the official KCNA news agency.
These threats come as tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula. Washington and Seoul maintain that their exercises are purely defensive, intended to strengthen their preparedness against the North Korean nuclear and missile threat. Pyongyang, for its part, regularly views them as preparations for an invasion.
The North Korean warning comes as Donald Trump, back at the White House, reaffirmed his intention to meet with leader Kim Jong Un before the end of the year. A statement greeted with skepticism by many analysts, who point out that Pyongyang has so far ignored calls for dialogue.
In this explosive context, the North Korean army's comments appear to be a signal to Washington and Seoul: any intensification of the exercises could trigger a response, further accentuating instability in a region already under high tension.
