SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Friday threatened to exercise its right to self-defense in a statement that slammed the upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills as a war rehearsal that would be more provocative than last year.The U.S. and South Korean militaries are to start their annual large-scale drills Monday and have described the scope of this year’s training as similar to past years. The allies have said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against North Korean threats and reiterated that they are defensive in nature.The North Korean warning signals the country could conduct more weapons tests in coming days after its neighbors detected two ballistic missile launches off North Korea’s east coast in the past week. North Korea hasn’t commented on the launches, but outside experts assess they were likely meant to protest the U.S.-South Korean drills or upgrade weapons systems.
In a statement carried by state media Friday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the U.S.-South Korean training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that is triggering a different level of instability in the region.“It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent,” the statement said. North Korea “will more clearly express its stance on the enemies to cope with any threats and challenges through the responsible and decisive exercise of the right to legitimate self-defense.”
