By Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea criticized a joint military exercise this month by South Korea, Japan and the United States, state media reported on Sunday, saying such exercises show that relations between the three countries have become “the Asian version of NATO”. .
On Thursday, the three countries began large-scale joint military exercises called “Freedom Edge”, involving navy destroyers, fighter jets and the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at strengthening defenses against missiles, submarines and air attacks.
The exercise was conceived at the tripartite summit at Camp David last year to strengthen military cooperation amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula stemming from North Korea’s weapons tests.
Pyongyang will not ignore the strengthening of the military bloc led by the United States and its allies and will protect regional peace with an aggressive and overwhelming response, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to the agency. KCNA press.
The ministry also said Washington is continuing its efforts to bind South Korea and Japan to NATO, adding that South Korea’s attempts to supply weapons to Ukraine are an example of such efforts.
South Korea has said it will consider supplying weapons directly to Ukraine in protest at a recent mutual defense agreement signed between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
South Korea and the United States have accused the North of supplying Russia with weapons used in the war in Ukraine. Russia and North Korea deny any such transaction.
On Saturday, North Korea’s ruling party held a key second-day meeting, chaired by Kim, which addressed “deviations” hampering economic development and outlined priorities for the second half of the year, state media said.
North Korea has long condemned joint U.S.-South Korea exercises, calling them a rehearsal for invasion and evidence of Washington and Seoul’s hostile policies.
Last year, the three countries held joint naval missile defense and anti-submarine warfare exercises to improve their response to North Korean threats.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Richard Chang)