DPRK threatens to 'counter' US over military drills

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) threatened on Saturday to "counter the US" if the United States holds joint military exercises with the Republic of Korea (ROK), saying the drills would harm reconciliation efforts on the peninsula.

The United States is due to start joint exercises in early April, a ROK presidential security adviser said this week according to Yonhap news agency – the latest in a series of drills that the DPRK has regularly described as a threat.

"If the US finally holds joint military exercises while keeping sanctions on the DPRK, the DPRK will counter the US by its own mode of counteraction and the US will be made to own all responsibilities for the ensuing consequences," DPRK's official news agency Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in its commentary.

On February 23, the United States said it was imposing its largest package of sanctions to pressure the DPRK to give up its nuclear and missile programs. President Donald Trump warned of a "phase two" that could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work.

ROK and US Marines take part in a winter military drill in PyeongChang, ROK, December 19, 2017. /Reuters Photo

KCNA accused Washington of trying to "bring dark clouds of a war to hang over the Korean peninsula."

"The US is swimming against the trend for the detente on the Korean Peninsula," KCNA said.

The ROK plans to send a special envoy to the DPRK in response to an invitation from leader Kim Jong Un, ROK President Moon Jae-in told Trump in a phone call on Thursday.

The Winter Olympics in PyeongChang last month gave a boost to recent engagement between the DPRK and the ROK after sharply rising tensions over the DPRK's missile program.

Source(s): Reuters