Seoul, October 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
North Korea on Tuesday condemned ongoing joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, as well as separate drills conducted by the US and Japan, describing them as “muscle flexing” by “enemy states” and warning of a “tit-for-tat” response.
In an English-language commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang said it would apply a “tit-for-tat principle based on strong power” in response to the military exercises.
“The present situation, in which the hostile forces get frantic in their military moves to infringe upon the security interests of the DPRK and undermine the regional strategic stability, highlights the validity and justness of the DPRK’s indispensable self-defensive efforts to deter them,” the commentary stated, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The remarks came as South Korea launched its annual Hoguk field exercise involving US forces on Monday. Japan also began large-scale military drills with the United States, known as Keen Sword, on the same day, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Criticising the South Korea-US exercises, Pyongyang accused Seoul of failing to conceal what it called the drills’ “aggressive and provocative nature”. It warned that escalating military threats would require stronger deterrence capabilities.
“Bolstered deterrent is required to deal with ever-escalating threats, and repeated provocations are bound to meet with such prompt reaction as bolstering of stronger capabilities,” KCNA said.
The agency added that North Korea would continue strengthening and demonstrating its defence capabilities in response to what it described as repeated military provocations by the United States, Japan and South Korea.
“To cope with the security environment on the Korean peninsula that has been put in new danger by oft-repeated US-Japan-ROK military provocations, the DPRK will continue to remind them of its will to defend sovereignty through ceaseless upgrading, bolstering and responsible demonstration of its reliable war deterrent for self-defence,” the commentary said.
The Hoguk exercise is scheduled to continue through October 30. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Forces Korea is also participating to improve interoperability with South Korean troops.
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