KCNA op-ed calls multinational drill a ‘war rehearsal’
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency on Friday published an op-ed condemning the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, or RIMPAC, which kicked off June 24 in Hawaii and is scheduled to conclude July 31. The commentary described the multinational drill as “not merely a routine exercise targeting a hypothetical adversary, but a blatant war rehearsal spearheaded by the U.S. and its followers to target regional states deemed primary obstacles to realizing its Asia-Pacific strategy.”
The statement warned that “the reckless behavior of these international hooligans is bound to trigger a chain of proportional countermeasures by regional countries to deter and manage the threat decisively.” Pyongyang argued that the exercises demonstrate “which forces are shaking the very foundations of global peace and security” and portend “that an undesirable situation may soon arise on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.”
RIMPAC brings together more than 25,000 personnel from 31 nations. South Korea is leading the combined maritime component command this year, marking the first time an Asian country has held that role. Seoul has deployed the Aegis destroyer Jeongjo the Great, a P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, and the 3,000-ton submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho for the exercise, among other assets.
The KCNA commentary specifically cited the presence of the U.S. nuclear-propelled USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier as well as combined drills conducted by U.S. and South Korean marines aboard the USS Essex amphibious assault ship. Pyongyang referred to participating allied forces as Washington’s “war vassals.”
The North’s state media said that “strengthening the war deterrent against the military challenges and threats of all hostile forces is a sovereign right that no one can block.”
The condemnation follows a series of protests from Pyongyang against allied military exercises this year. MSI previously reported that North Korea on June 29 condemned the U.S.-Japan Resolute Dragon exercise as a rehearsal for war. In late June, Kim Jong Un called for accelerating North Korea’s nuclear buildup and officially designated South Korea a “most hostile state” during a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party.