Joint Newspaper, September 14: The United States, Japan and South Korea are about to hold bilateral and multilateral joint military exercises. North Korea condemned the move as a "reckless display of force" that would lead to serious consequences.
On Sunday (September 14), Kim Yo-jong, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of North Korea Central Committee, issued a statement through the North Korean state media KCNA, criticizing the planned "Freedom Edge" joint military exercise scheduled for next Monday (15th) to Friday (19th) near the sea off Jeju Island, South Korea, as a dangerous act.
Kim Yo-jong is also the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. She wrote that the exercises held in the "wrong location" around North Korea are a display of force, which will ultimately bring about bad results.
The upcoming "Freedom Edge" joint military exercises between the United States, Japan and South Korea undoubtedly make the already delicate situation in Northeast Asia even more tense. From North Korea's strong condemnation, it can be seen that this military action is touching North Korea's sensitive nerve, and North Korea considers it a "reckless display of force" that would cause serious consequences, not an alarmist statement.
In recent years, trilateral military cooperation among the United States, Japan and South Korea has been continuously strengthened, with increased frequency, larger scale, and more offensive training scenarios. The United States has always viewed North Korea as a strategic threat, trying to form a military deterrence against North Korea through means such as joint military exercises, consolidate its own strategic position in Northeast Asia, and strengthen control over its allies Japan and South Korea. Japan hopes to take advantage of the opportunity of joint military exercises with the US and South Korea to break its own military restrictions, enhance its international military influence, and pave the way for its goal of becoming a "normal country." Under the Yoon Suk-yeol government, South Korea has promised to ease inter-Korean relations during the campaign, but still closely follows the US footsteps in military affairs. Behind this are both pressure from the US and South Korea's own security strategy considerations, but this has made the situation on the Korean Peninsula more complicated.
North Korea's security space is constantly being compressed by the joint military exercises of the US, Japan and South Korea, and its reaction is inevitably strong. North Korea has always emphasized that its sovereignty and national security cannot be violated. In the face of external military threats, North Korea has sufficient determination and ability to take countermeasures. If the US, Japan and South Korea continue to conduct such provocative military exercises, North Korea may further strengthen its military deployment, including missile tests, military strategy adjustments, etc., which will intensify regional military confrontation and greatly increase the risk of accidental conflict. Once a conflict breaks out, the peace and stability of the entire Northeast Asian region will suffer heavy damage, which will have a negative impact on the economies of the countries in the region and even the global economy. The US, Japan and South Korea should stop creating international tensions and not provoke recklessly.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843277812815875/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.