Pyongyang: US-South Korea nuclear drills highlight need to bolster deterrence - Sarmad

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korea views the recent joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea as training for a nuclear war targeting Pyongyang, and pledged to accelerate efforts to enhance its deterrent capabilities against nuclear war.

The agency quoted Kim Jong-seok, a senior official in the ruling Workers’ Party, as saying that the Iron Resolve exercises demonstrated that the United States has not changed its “unbridled ambition to suffocate North Korea using nuclear weapons,” and that these threats “are escalating with each passing day.”

He stated that the Iron Resolve exercises and other joint military activities conducted by Washington and Seoul confirmed North Korea’s need to strengthen its nuclear forces at a faster pace.

According to the South Korean military, the United States and South Korea conducted the Iron Resolve exercises, aimed at integrating U.S. nuclear capabilities with South Korean conventional forces, from September 29 to October 2.

Analysts noted that it is unusual for Kim, a senior official overseeing the development and production of nuclear weapons and missiles in North Korea, to issue a statement outlining the country’s nuclear policy, a role typically carried out by the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Yang Moo-jin, an emeritus professor at the University for North Korean Studies, said Kim’s role may expand beyond missile development and production to encompass nuclear and missile policy.

Tensions between the two Koreas have escalated following a landmine explosion in September, with North Korea later threatening to resume loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts toward the South by the end of October.

However, the South Korean military said on Monday that there are currently no definitive indications that Pyongyang has carried out this threat.