North Korea has decided to take "
significant practical steps
" of war deterrence, state media reported on Sunday (March 12), a day before Seoul and Washington begin their largest joint military drills in five years.
"
At the meeting, important practical measures were discussed and adopted for more effective, powerful and offensive use of war deterrence
," the official KCNA news agency said.
The decision was made at a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party Central Military Commission chaired by leader Kim Jong Un, KCNA said.
The report says the measures are aimed at “
coping with the current situation
” amid “
US and South Korea’s provocations of war reaching the red line
,” but does not elaborate on these measures. .
South Korea and the United States are due to begin "
Freedom Shield
" exercises on Monday, focusing on "
the changing security environment
" due to the redoubled aggressiveness of North Korea, the allies announced.
These exercises systematically provoke the anger of North Korea, which considers them as general rehearsals for an invasion of its territory, while justifying its own programs of nuclear and ballistic weapons by the need to defend itself.
Read alsoNorth Korea: Kim orders reinforced military maneuvers for a “real war”
Analysts say North Korea will likely use these trainings as a pretext for more provocations, including missile tests and possibly even a nuclear test.
On Friday, KCNA reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had ordered his military to step up military maneuvers for "
real war
".
In addition, the North Korean leader, who oversaw a new military exercise, ordered soldiers to prepare for "
two strategic missions: first, to deter war, and second, to initiate war
."
Washington and Seoul have stepped up defense cooperation in the face of growing military and nuclear threats from North Korea, which has carried out increasingly provocative banned weapons tests.
