North Korea's newly appointed defense minister criticised ongoing US drills with South Korea and Japan and vowed to punish what he described as hostile forces threatening the country's national security.
"If the US and its allies attempt to provoke a new military confrontation with the DPRK, the latter will take strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power," Kim Song Gi said in a late-night statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on Monday. He used North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The US, South Korea and Japan began five days of Freedom Edge joint training on Monday in international waters off South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, aimed at boosting their deterrence against North Korean threats.
The North Korean defense minister also criticized US drills with Japan and Australia as well as the reported move to bring in an American multi-domain mobile task force to South Korea, calling them "US-led war demonstrations."
"If necessary, we will express our will and ability to respond to the enemies' moves with more powerful and resolute action," the minister said.
Kim Song Gi, formerly the director of the political bureau of the North Korean army, was appointed the country's new defense minister in late August. North Korea's state media has said the reshuffle was aimed at better implementing the ruling party's military policies.
The statement comes days after North Korea commissioned its second destroyer in less than three months as Kim Jong Un pushes to upgrade the country's naval capabilities with nuclear weapons even as President Donald Trump continues to tout his "very good relationship" with Kim.
Trump last month unilaterally curtailed joint military exercises with South Korea scheduled for August citing his relationship with the North Korean leader.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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