North Korea has threatened retaliation against the United States, accusing American pilots of conducting a simulated attack.
The warning followed a joint training exercise this week, during which US pilots flew long-range B-1B bombers over South Korea alongside South Korean forces. The bombers, capable of carrying a heavy load of conventional weapons, were part of a mission South Korea’s Defense Ministry described as a show of deterrence by the allied nations.
Both South Korea and the US emphasized that their joint exercises are routine and purely defensive. However, with North Korea steadily advancing its nuclear program, Pyongyang has condemned the drills, accusing them of being a rehearsal for an invasion.
The planes flew over the Korean Peninsula (Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In a statement released on Wednesday (April 16), a spokesperson for North Korea’s Defense Ministry said, “The recent military actions by the US and the ROK (South Korea) are an open threat to our national security and a grave provocation that pushes regional military tensions to an extremely dangerous level.”
North Korea warned it would not stand by, vowing to “deter with powerful force the U.S. aggressive attempt to permanently embed malignant instability in the region’s security environment.”
The exercise — the second of its kind since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office — featured South Korea’s F-35 and F-16 fighter jets joining American bombers as they flew over the Korean Peninsula.
Commenting on the exercise, South Korea’s defense ministry stated that the country will continue to collaborate with the US to expand their joint military drills in response to North Korea’s nuclear threats.
Trump has described North Korea’s president as a ‘very smart guy’ (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The country also revealed plans to conduct large-scale biannual aerial exercises with American forces, lasting two weeks and involving 90 aircraft and other aerial assets from the allied nations.
North Korea is especially sensitive to the deployment of strategic US assets, including long-range bombers, aircraft carriers, and nuclear-powered submarines. Its threat of retaliation follows President Trump’s recent praise of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, calling him a “very smart guy.”
Speaking on March 31, the President of the United States stated that North Korea is a “big nuclear nation” and mentioned that there is “communication” between him and the North Korean leader.
