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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, has strongly criticised upcoming joint military exercises between the United States, Japan, and South Korea as "dangerous" and a "reckless show of strength," Al Jazeera reported.
The remarks come a day before Seoul and its allies are set to launch drills combining naval, air, and missile defence operations off South Korea's Jeju Island. The exercises, named "Freedom Edge," are scheduled to continue through Friday. Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the North Korean governing party's central committee, described the drills as a "dangerous idea." "This reminds us that the reckless display of power displayed by the US, Japan, and South Korea in the wrong places, namely around the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, will undoubtedly bring about negative consequences for themselves," she warned. Al Jazeera noted that her statement follows a visit by Kim Jong Un to weapons research facilities this week, during which he said Pyongyang "would put forward the policy of simultaneously pushing forward the building of nuclear forces and conventional armed forces." Observers cited by Al Jazeera said North Korea is likely using the allied exercises as a pretext to accelerate both nuclear modernisation and conventional military upgrades. In addition to the trilateral exercises, the US and South Korea plan to stage the "Iron Mace" tabletop drills next week, aimed at integrating conventional and nuclear capabilities to counter North Korea's threats, according to South Korean media reports. South Korea currently hosts approximately 28,500 American troops. "Iron Mace" will be the first such exercise under US President Donald Trump and newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, both of whom have expressed a willingness to resume dialogue with North Korea. North Korea has also vowed to respond if "hostile forces" continue flaunting their military power through such drills. "More clearly and strongly" countermeasures will be taken, North Korea's top party official Pak Jong Chon said via the state news agency KCNA. Since a failed 2019 summit with the US on denuclearisation, North Korea has repeatedly asserted that it will never give up its nuclear arsenal, declaring itself an "irreversible" nuclear state. The country has also been emboldened by the war in Ukraine, securing critical support from Russia after reportedly sending thousands of North Korean troops to fight alongside Moscow. Moscow and Pyongyang formalised a mutual defence pact last year during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the reclusive state, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)
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