In the wake of three-day military exercises known as “Freedom Edge,” US, South Korean, and Japanese forces completed coordinated drills in ballistic missile and air defenses, anti-submarine warfare, and defensive cyber training. These annual drills were agreed upon during a trilateral summit last year, symbolizing unity against North Korea’s nuclear threats and China’s expanding regional influence.
Pyongyang’s foreign ministry condemned the exercises, issuing a statement through the state-run KCNA news agency on Sunday: “We strongly denounce… provocative military muscle-flexing against the DPRK.” The statement criticized the US-Japan-ROK alliance, likening it to an “Asian-version NATO” and warned of “fatal consequences.” The ministry asserted that North Korea would not overlook the moves to strengthen the military bloc.
The recent joint drills featured Washington’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, Tokyo’s guided-missile destroyer JS Atago, and Seoul’s KF-16 fighter jet. Pyongyang has consistently labeled such combined exercises as rehearsals for an invasion.
In response, Seoul dismissed Pyongyang’s accusations, emphasizing that the exercises are part of long-standing defensive drills among the three allies. “It is absurd that North Korea, the primary source of tension on the Korean peninsula, criticizes the Freedom Edge exercise by labeling it as an ‘Asian NATO’,” the South’s defense ministry stated on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the two Koreas have engaged in a tit-for-tat balloon campaign, with Pyongyang sending trash-filled balloons southwards in retaliation for pro-Seoul propaganda balloons sent northwards. South Korea is also concerned about North Korea’s warming relations with Russia. North Korea is accused of breaching arms control measures by supplying weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin recently held a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, showcasing their growing alliance.
