North Korea warned again that if the U.S. and South Korea continue to indulge in the "Eulji Freedom Shield" (UFS) joint training exercises, which involve the deployment of the U.S. stealth fighter F-35 in the Korean Peninsula, they will "undoubtedly face a boring environment".
General Kim Young-bok, the first deputy chief of the general staff, said in a statement titled, "The shameless war doctrine of the armed robber will never work," according to the Korean Central News Agency on the 26th.
He emphasized, "We are watching everything closely and are prepared to respond to any situation."
The deputy chief of staff noted, "In the Korean Peninsula region, which is in a state of war legally, a large-scale war exercise conducted in collusion with the world's largest nuclear power and more than ten allied countries against a single country cannot possibly be defensive," and defined the U.S. Forces Korea's explanation of it being "defensive training" as "utter nonsense."
He continued to question, "The demonstration of a new joint operational plan aimed at expanding attacks into our territory after a preemptive strike on our nuclear facilities is a clear expression of the intention for war against the republic. Who is the real culprit behind threatening humanity with nuclear weapons and destroying peace?"
He opposed by listing the U.S. forces deployed to Korea for the UFS exercises, stating, "This joint military exercise, in terms of nature, scale, and execution method, has renewed the record of all past anti-republic war demonstrations and has made its provocative nature increasingly conspicuous as a real combat exercise."
He criticized the U.S., saying, "The typical Yankee arrogance and shamelessness of distorting the truth of the situation with cheap verbal tricks and turning black and white upside down will never work."
According to military authorities, the U.S. Air Force's F-35A arrived in South Korea last week to participate in the U.S.-South Korea joint air drills taking place during the UFS.
The U.S. fifth-generation stealth fighters have been deployed to the Korean Peninsula in unit formations for training and other purposes over the past five months.