Pyongyang has appealed to the United Nations to ask Seoul and Washington to halt joint military maneuvers, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported Sunday.
“The UN and the international community should call on the United States and South Korea to immediately stop provocative remarks and joint military exercises,” North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong said in a statement released by KCNA.
According to the official, the rhetoric and maneuvers from Seoul and Washington led to an “extremely dangerous” level of tension.
The statement comes after US and South Korean authorities on Friday announced large-scale military exercises for the period March 13-23.
Washington and Seoul claim they are defense exercises, but Pyongyang sees the military maneuvers as rehearsal for an invasion or overthrow of the North Korean regime.
On Friday, the two Allies held joint air exercises involving a US long-range bomber and a South Korean fighter.
The “irresponsible actions” of the two allies will push the regional situation into a “very critical and uncontrollable phase,” Kim Son Gyong warned.
North Korea on Saturday blamed Washington for what it sees as the collapse of international arms control systems, saying Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal was the “safest way” to balance power in the region.
Source: DN
