North Korea Blasts Upcoming US-South Korea Drills, Warns of 'New Level of Deterrent'

North Korea's Foreign Ministry has sharply criticized the upcoming Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises between the United States and South Korea, calling the drills a provocation that raises tensions across the Korean Peninsula. In a statement carried by state media KCNA on Friday, a ministry spokesperson said trilateral security cooperation among Washington, Seoul and Tokyo is turning into what Pyongyang described as a "nuclear alliance."

The spokesperson said North Korea would answer any escalation in kind, stating that it is the country's "consistent principle" to respond to a new level of threat with a new level of deterrent. The statement also accused the United States of lowering the threshold for nuclear weapons use and of pushing the world toward the brink of nuclear war, reflecting Pyongyang's familiar rhetoric ahead of joint US-South Korea exercises.

The Ulchi Freedom Shield drills are scheduled to run from August 17 to August 27 and will involve roughly 18,000 South Korean troops alongside the approximately 28,500-strong US military contingent stationed in the country. Unlike previous iterations, this year's exercises are designed to prepare forces for modern warfare scenarios, including countering drone attacks, GPS jamming and cyberattacks, as allied planners adapt to North Korea's evolving military capabilities.

Colonel Ryan Donald, a spokesperson for the US-South Korea Combined Forces Command, noted this week that North Korea's involvement in Russia's war against Ukraine has reshaped the threat landscape facing allied forces on the peninsula. He said the North has brought lessons learned on European battlefields back home, prompting adjustments to allied training.

North Korea has deployed an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 troops to fight alongside Russian forces since late 2024, with thousands reported killed, and is believed to be preparing to send around 10,000 more soldiers. In exchange, Pyongyang has reportedly received arms, energy supplies and direct financial support from Moscow.

The latest condemnation comes just two days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast, its second such launch within a week. Pyongyang routinely stages weapons tests and issues angry statements in the run-up to major US-South Korea military exercises, framing them as rehearsals for an invasion, while Washington and Seoul maintain the drills are purely defensive in nature.