North Korea Condemns ROK-US Joint Exercises as "Clear Manifestation of Confrontational Fanatics' Criminal Scheme"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun]North Korea has once again voiced criticism towards the military, mentioning the upcoming second half of the year South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises scheduled for next month.

The external propaganda outlet 'Uri Minjokkkiri' on the 20th, in a commentary titled 'Deserving of Condemnation and Denunciation,' condemned the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises as "a clear manifestation of the criminal scheme of confrontation maniacs who are accelerating preparations for a northern invasion war and stubbornly confronting their own people with force."

It added that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is heading towards a tense phase, citing as reasons "the northern invasion war provocations carried out by the South Korean military warmongers backed by foreign forces, as well as the military buildup including the introduction of advanced weaponry."

The outlet also claimed that the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises violate the inter-Korean joint declarations and the September 19 military agreement.

The media stated, "The treacherous and traitorous rampage of the South Korean military warmongers, who are obsessed with fratricidal confrontation mania and shamelessly engage in blatant acts of breaking the inter-Korean declarations and military agreements, rightfully deserves strong condemnation and denunciation both domestically and internationally."

Another propaganda outlet, 'Meori,' also criticized in an article on the same day, saying, "Recently, the military provocations of the South Korean military have gone beyond limits."

The outlet mentioned that the South side planned the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises and participated several times in multinational joint military exercises, unleashing harsh expressions such as 'puppet of foreign forces' and 'cheap war cannon fodder.'

It added, "Moreover, at a time when the whole world is in turmoil due to the global pandemic, the South Korean military's such provocations are clearly reckless military actions that destroy peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding areas, and furthermore, the world."

It has been reported that South Korea and the U.S. will begin the scaled-down second half joint command post exercises starting from the 16th of next month.