SEOUL: North Korea has harshly criticized South Korea and the United States for conducting a joint air exercise, accusing Washington of escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula to an “uncontrollable” level. The exercise, named Freedom Flag, began this week and includes participation from the air forces of South Korea, the United States, and Australia. It is scheduled to continue until next Friday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Freedom Flag exercise is a new two-week joint drill replacing the regular large-scale air exercises between South Korea and the U.S., namely Korea Flying Training and Vigilant Defense, which previously occurred in the first and second halves of the year, respectively. This marks the first occurrence of the Freedom Flag exercise, which North Korea perceives as a significant military threat.
In a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency, an official from North Korea’s foreign ministry described the Freedom Flag exercise as a “very dangerous act of military provocat
ion.” The official claimed that the exercise is aimed at executing a “preemptive” and “unexpected” strike on North Korea. Pyongyang also accused the United States of fostering South Korea’s “hostile lunacy” by backing the dissemination of propaganda leaflets into the North and consistently deploying strategic military assets on the Korean Peninsula.
The statement further asserted that the United States is primarily responsible for creating an “uncontrollable” situation on the peninsula. It warned that if an unwanted situation arises, the U.S. would bear full responsibility as the main force exacerbating regional tensions.