Kim Yo-jong, the deputy director of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, criticized the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise Freedom Shield (FS) just one day after its launch, suggesting potential military provocations in response.
In a statement released on Tuesday through North Korean state media, she declared that since Monday, the hostile nations have once again demonstrated their inherent animosity and habitual antagonism towards them by initiating the large-scale joint military exercise FS.
Kim emphasized that at a time when the global security landscape is rapidly deteriorating due to the reckless actions of international aggressors, the U.S.-South Korea war games conducted on the Korean Peninsula will further destabilize the region, indirectly referencing recent conflicts in the Middle East.
She asserted that the enemy may once again claim these are annual and defensive exercises, but regardless of their justification or how they modify the training elements, the clear confrontational nature of these high-intensity, large-scale war drills remains unchanged.
Kim particularly highlighted that the incorporation of information warfare elements and artificial intelligence (AI) technology into the joint exercises has intensified their practical and provocative aspects, describing this as a trend that amplifies risk. She also noted that in recent years, command and field training exercises (FTX) have significantly expanded to adapt and perfect new modern warfare doctrines and methods, including nuclear elements, tailored to the realities of the Korean Peninsula.
Kim further argued that recent global geopolitical crises and various international incidents demonstrate that there is no distinction between defense and offense, or between exercises and actual combat in the military actions conducted by hostile nations. She insisted that in response, it must counter these actions with an overwhelmingly powerful and preemptive offensive, not just with proportional or reactive measures.
She added that it will closely monitor the extent to which the enemy threatens the national security and what maneuvers they attempt. It will manage strategic threats to national and regional safety through a decisive display of destructive power, including all available special means, as a responsible exercise of our deterrence capabilities.
U.S. and South Korean military authorities commenced the FS exercises on Monday, preparing for potential contingencies on the Korean Peninsula.
This year, approximately 18,000 troops are participating in the FS exercises, comparable to last year’s numbers. However, the actual FTX involving troop movements will total 22, less than half of the 51 conducted during last year’s FS exercises.