Pyongyang has appealed to the United Nations to ask Seoul and Washington to stop joint military maneuvers, the official North Korean news agency KCNA reported this Sunday.
“The UN and the international community will have to call on the United States and South Korea to immediately stop provocative remarks and joint military exercises,” North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong said in a statement released by KCNA.
According to the official, the rhetoric and maneuvers of Seoul and Washington led to an “extremely dangerous” level of tension.
The statement comes after US and South Korean authorities announced on Friday large-scale military exercises for the period from 13 to 23 March.
Washington and Seoul argue that they are defense exercises, but Pyongyang views the military maneuvers as a rehearsal for an invasion or overthrow of the North Korean regime.
On Friday, the two allies held joint air exercises with a US long-range bomber and a South Korean fighter. The “irresponsible acts” of the two allies will make the regional situation pass into a “very critical and uncontrollable phase”, warned Kim Son Gyong.
North Korea on Saturday blamed Washington for what it sees as the collapse of international arms control systems and said Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal was the “safest way” to balance power in the region.