North Korea has issued a fresh warning to the United States over an upcoming large-scale military exercise with South Korea, threatening to respond with “overwhelming force” to defend its security.
The warning from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry came Friday, two days after Pyongyang fired a missile into the Sea of Japan. It was the country’s 11th missile launch of the year.
The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is scheduled to begin August 17 and will run for 10 days. North Korea has routinely condemned the drills as provocative, while the United States and South Korea say the exercises are intended to prepare for changing forms of warfare and North Korea’s growing military capabilities.
Pyongyang Warns Against US-South Korea Drills
In an English-language statement published by North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, the Foreign Ministry said the military and political situation was becoming increasingly serious.
The ministry accused the United States of seeking to regain “military hegemony” and rebuild a “unilateral threatening structure” on the Korean Peninsula through the exercises.
“The DPRK remains steadfast in its will to frustrate outsiders’ hostile acts with the most powerful and overwhelming force and absolutely defend the supreme interests of state security,” the statement said, referring to North Korea by its official name.
The 2026 Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is expected to include training designed to counter drones, cyberattacks and GPS disruption. South Korea hosts approximately 28,500 U.S. troops, and the two allies have increased the pace and sophistication of their military drills in recent years.
North Korea maintains that its nuclear and missile programs are defensive, while Seoul and Washington view Pyongyang’s growing capabilities as a security concern.
The latest warning also comes amid concern over North Korea’s military involvement in Russia’s war in Ukraine. Thousands of North Korean troops have taken part in Russia’s invasion, raising fears in Seoul and Washington that Pyongyang is gaining combat experience that could eventually be applied on the Korean Peninsula.
U.N. Command Deputy Commander Lieutenant General Scott Winter warned that North Korean veterans of the Ukraine war had likely brought lessons from the conflict back home.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he believes North Korea could send an additional 30,000 to 50,000 troops to the conflict, potentially doubling the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 initially deployed in late 2024.
North and South Korea technically remain at war because the 1953 armistice ended active hostilities but was never followed by a peace treaty.