SEOUL — North Korea on Friday denounced major U.S.-South Korean military drills and said they were more provocative than last year’s, according to state media. It said U.S.-Japan-South Korea military co-operation is turning into a nuclear alliance, and the country will respond to a new level of threat with a new level of deterrent, state media KCNA said, citing a spokesperson for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry. South Korea and the United States will conduct the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint military drills from Aug. 17 to 27, incorporating exercises to counter drones, GPS disruption and cyberattacks as they adapt to North Korea’s evolving capabilities. Pyongyang routinely denounces the military exercises as a provocation that heightens tensions. North Korea also said on Friday it would further strengthen its nuclear deterrence, accusing the United States of pursuing a new nuclear strategy that lowers the threshold for using weapons and could push global security “to the brink of a nuclear war.” In a commentary, state media KCNA cited U.S. nuclear co-operation with South Korea and extended-deterrence commitments to Japan, saying the Korean Peninsula could become a priority target of the alleged strategy. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
