Kim Yo Jong, deputy department director of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, criticized the U.S.-South Korea-Japan joint aerial drill conducted on Sunday, stating that the threatening actions of the U.S. and South Korea merely serve to justify North Korea’s path of nuclear force strengthening comprehensively.
In a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, Kim said, “The U.S., Japan, and South Korea have once again carried out reckless joint air drills right at our doorstep, targeting our republic.” She highlighted that fighter jets from the three countries, including the U.S. strategic bomber B-1B, were deployed under the guise of responding to North Korea’s recent weapons tests. She argued that this reinforces North Korea’s nuclear armament strategy, presenting it as a defensive response to external threats.
Kim further emphasized, “The imbalance of power on the Korean Peninsula and in the region has reached a point where it means war.” She continued, “The increasing frequency of these dangerous military exercises by the U.S. and its allies poses a grave threat not only to our nation but also to regional peace and security.” She warned, “The more intense these adversarial actions become, the more our path’s necessity and urgency will stand out, and we will intensify our efforts accordingly.”
She reiterated North Korea’s stance, stating, “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s commitment to strengthening its self-defense nuclear deterrent is the only viable choice given the current geopolitical climate, and we will not deviate from this path.”
On October 31, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un affirmed at the launch site of the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-19 that “the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will never alter its nuclear force enhancement path,” stating that the ICBM launch was an appropriate military action to signal North Korea’s “determination to respond” to adversaries.
In response to North Korea’s ICBM launch, the U.S., South Korea, and Japan conducted a joint aerial drill on Sunday. The exercise included the deployment of the U.S. strategic bomber B-1B, South Korean Air Force’s F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets, U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets, and Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighter jets.