SEOUL: North Korea\u2019s defense ministry urged South Korea and the United States to stop military drills, saying they are rehearsals of war and warning of consequences, KCNA reported on Tuesday.
\nSouth Korean and US militaries kicked off their annual spring exercises on Monday with twice the number of troops joining compared to last year, seeking to improve their responses to North Korea\u2019s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
\nAn unnamed spokesperson of Pyongyang\u2019s defense ministry said it strongly denounces what it called \u201cfrantic, reckless\u201d military drills, urging them to stop, KCNA said.
\nThe exercises can never be defensive but are an attempt to invade the North, the spokesperson said, pointing to their increased scale and the participation of 11 member countries of the United Nations Command.
\n\u201cA nuclear war may be ignited even with a spark,\u201d KCNA quoted the spokesperson as saying.
\nThe US and South Korea will have to \u201cpay a dear price for their false choice,\u201d the official added, vowing to conduct \u201cmilitary activities to strongly control the unstable security environment.\u201d
\nSouth Korea\u2019s defense ministry dismissed the North\u2019s statement, saying the exercises are defensive and meant to fend off the North\u2019s provocations and aggression.
\n\u201cIf North Korea makes a direct provocation using the exercises as an excuse, we will make overwhelming responses immediately, strongly and until the end,\u201d it said in a statement.
\nThe Freedom Shield exercises, set to end on March 14, came as North Korea pushes to develop its nuclear capabilities with missile and other weapons tests.
\nThe exercises are primarily designed to neutralize the North\u2019s nuclear threats, including by \u201cidentifying and striking\u201d cruise missiles, which Pyongyang had indicated could carry nuclear warheads, Seoul military officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL: North Korea\u2019s defense ministry urged South Korea and the United States to stop military drills, saying they are rehearsals of war and warning of consequences, KCNA reported on Tuesday. South Korean and US militaries kicked off their annual spring exercises on Monday with twice the number of troops joining compared to last year, seeking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-391580","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n