North Korean Propaganda Media Criticizes "Hanmi Training Accelerates Nuclear War"

"Risks of ROK-US Drills Must Not Be Overlooked" Claim

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] North Korea has not issued an official statement regarding the ongoing South Korea-US joint military exercises but continues to unleash daily criticism through its propaganda media.

On the 23rd, North Korea's external propaganda outlet, Tongil-ui Meaori (Echo of Unification), published a commentary titled "What is aimed at by the normalization of joint military exercises?" stating that although South Korean authorities excuse the exercises as "defensive" computer-simulated drills, "the fundamental purpose is to thoroughly conceal what they aim for through the normalization of joint military exercises," and said the following.

The media claimed that the South Korea-US alliance "aims through the normalization of joint military exercises to induce our complacency and negligence and to seek opportunities for preemptive strikes," adding, "In particular, they focus most on reviewing the realism of adventurous war scenarios and operational plans and fully mastering the methods of conducting warfare to be applied in actual combat."

It also criticized, "Their claims of 'reduced scale, no live maneuvers' are nothing but mere disguise and deception."

Furthermore, it stated, "The normalization of South Korea-US joint military exercises is accelerating the reality of nuclear war outbreak," and added, "The risks and seriousness inherent in the joint exercises must never be overlooked."

In another article, the media harshly condemned recent remarks by President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who visited the US Forces Korea base in Pyeongtaek (Camp Humphreys) and expressed agreement on the importance of the joint exercises, saying, "It is truly pitiful to be engrossed in twisting the noose for suicide and hastening a miserable end."

South Korea and the US conducted a Crisis Management Staff Training (CMST), a preliminary exercise, from the 12th to the 15th, and have been conducting the main exercise, the first half of the Combined Command Post Training (CCPT), from the 18th through the 28th.

During this period, North Korea has been using propaganda media to flood criticism of the South Korea-US joint exercises daily, but as of the sixth day of the main exercise, no official statements have been issued through authorities or official organizations.