A spokesperson for North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement on the 13th, saying that the United States and South Korea have announced that they will carry out the large-scale 2026 "Ulchi Freedom Shield" joint military exercise starting August 17. The spokesperson stated that the essence of this exercise is a rehearsal for aggressive war.
North Korea pointed out that the United States has publicly declared that this joint military exercise is completely different from the drills of the past five years and will focus on developing the ability to execute warfare adapted to new patterns of modern warfare. This shows that the purpose of the exercise is to perfect preparations for actual military confrontation with North Korea.
North Korea believes that the provocative and dangerous nature of this exercise far exceeds that of last year, causing a grave threat to North Korea's national security and the security environment of the region.
North Korea stated that it will respond to new threats with new deterrence capabilities and resolutely and rightfully crush any provocation through steadfast self-defense.