US Threatened by North Korea With ‘Powerful Measures'

In the event that the US continues to hold joint military exercises with South Korea, North Korea has threatened the country with "powerful follow-up measures." Additionally, one of the largest joint military aviation drills between Washington and Seoul got underway on Monday and will go on until Friday. And in reaction to the different drills, North Korea also recently fired off a number of missiles. Furthermore, this comes in response to intelligence assessments that Pyongyang is getting ready to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017. Additionally, North Korea's foreign ministry declared in a statement, "If the US continuously persists in the grave military provocations, [North Korea] will take into account more powerful follow-up measures." "If [Washington] does not want any serious developments not suited to its security interests, it should stop the useless and ineffective war exercises at once. If not, it will have to totally take the blame for all the consequences." What's more In the ongoing military exercises known as Vigilant Storm, hundreds of planes simulate attacks around-the-clock. Early in October, Washington made a warning to the North by stationing its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan close to the Korean Peninsula and participating in a series of naval drills. The "rare" deployment, according to Seoul, demonstrated the "resolve of the South Korea-US Alliance to respond sternly to any North Korean provocations." Currently, the carrier is operating flights over the Philippine Sea. According to Pyongyang, the launch of missiles was a "simulation" of a nuclear assault on the South in October. Moreover, the rockets were supposed to be built to deliver tactical nuclear warheads, and they claimed to have successfully simulated hitting South Korea's military installations, shipping ports, and airports. Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, declared Pyongyang to be an "irreversible" nuclear power in September and changed the country's legal framework to permit the use of nuclear weapons in self-defense. It has previously only employed the weapons in the event of an assault. Also, this year, North Korea increased the frequency of its missile launches as well - the country launched more than 40 missiles, which is a record. Lastly, Pyongyang carried out six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017 despite severe restrictions.