NK warns of 'overwhelming' actions against US-S. Korea military drills

• Published date: 07 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned Tuesday the North is ready to take "overwhelming" actions against military activities by the United States and South Korea, as its rivals are staging joint military drills involving American strategic assets.

Kim also said the North will regard any U.S. attempt to intercept a missile that it will fire as a "clear declaration of war" against the reclusive nation, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"We are always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment," Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the state-run media, adding that the North is keeping close tabs on "restless military moves" by Seoul and Washington.

South Korea and the U.S. conducted combined air drills Monday, involving at least one U.S. nuclear-capable B-52H strategic bomber, in the wake of Friday's similar drills mobilizing a U.S. B-1B bomber.

The allies also plan to stage the Freedom Shield (FS) exercise, a computer-simulated command post training, from March 13-23 in a bid to bolster deterrence against the North's nuclear and missile threats.

Kim also took issue with a news report about the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. A local newspaper reported Monday that Adm. John Aquilino warned if the North fires an...