SEOUL, Aug. 11 (UPI) — North Korea‘s defense chief on Monday condemned the upcoming large-scale Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea and warned of “negative consequences.”
The North “strongly” denounces the allies “for their provocative moves of clearly showing the stand of military confrontation with the DPRK and making another serious challenge to the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the region,” Defense Minister No Kwang Choi said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
“[We] solemnly warn them of the negative consequences to be entailed by them,” No said.
The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which includes live field maneuvers, computer simulation-based command post exercises and related civil defense drills, will be held from Aug. 18-28.
No called the exercise “not only a direct military provocation against the DPRK but also a real threat to amplify the unpredictability of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.”
The North will “strictly exercise the sovereign right of the DPRK at the level of the right to self-defense in a case of any provocation going beyond the boundary line,” No said.
Pyongyang regularly condemns the allies’ joint drills as rehearsals for an invasion and has at times reacted with missile launches and other provocations.
A representative of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command on Monday emphasized that the exercise, which will involve around 21,000 personnel, is “defensive in nature.”
“All professional militaries train,” the representative said in a background briefing with reporters. “North Korea trains, we train. Our training is designed to protect everyone living inside the Republic of Korea. They fire missiles and rockets — it’s not the same.”
The CFC representative noted that the tone of No’s statement was relatively measured, however.
“If you actually look at North Korea’s statement, it’s a little bit tame compared to historical norms,” the representative said. “They basically said: ‘Whatever you do, just don’t go across our border.'”
The exercise comes amid efforts by the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to improve frayed relations with Pyongyang.
Last week, the South’s military removed loudspeakers that had been installed along the DMZ to blast anti-Pyongyang messages across the border. On Saturday, North Korea began removing its own speakers in some forward areas, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to reporters.
Half of Ulchi Freedom Shield’s 44 planned field training exercises have been rescheduled to next month, the CFC representative confirmed Monday, citing an ongoing heatwave and flooding damage to training areas as the primary reasons. According to local media reports, the move is also being made in an effort to avoid provoking Pyongyang.
The CFC representative said that the changes would have “minimal impact.”
“There shouldn’t be any loss in readiness or defensive posture from rescheduling those events,” the representative said. “The most important training is being conducted as planned.”