Flight deck crew move a fuel tank from an F-18 fighter jet onboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt as the aircraft carrier participates in Rim of the Pacific military exercises in waters south of the Hawaiian Islands, July 13. Reuters-Yonhap
North Korea denounced Friday an ongoing U.S.-led multinational military exercise taking place in Hawaii, calling it a "war rehearsal" that will trigger a "chain of countermeasures" from countries in the region.
The North's state media carried the criticism in an op-ed on the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), in which South Korea is leading the combined maritime component command this year as the first Asian country to do so.
"RIMPAC is not merely a routine exercise targeting a hypothetical adversary, but a blatant war rehearsal spearheaded by the U.S. and its followers to target regional states deemed primary obstacles to realizing its Asia-Pacific strategy," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"The reckless behavior of these international hooligans is bound to trigger a chain of proportional countermeasures by regional countries to deter and manage the threat decisively," it said.
