North Korea says US, South Korea and Japan developing ‘Asian NATO’
Al Jazeera
The claim comes after Washington, Seoul and Tokyo began joint military exercises on Thursday.
North Korea has criticised a joint military exercise by the United States, South Korea and Japan, saying such drills show the relationship among the three countries has developed into “the Asian version of NATO”, state media reported.
“We strongly denounce… provocative military muscle-flexing against the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea],” Pyongyang’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency on Sunday.
“The US-Japan-ROK [South Korea] relations have taken on the full-fledged appearance of an Asian-version NATO,” it said, warning of “fatal consequences”.
“The DPRK will never overlook the moves of the US and its followers to strengthen the military bloc.”
On Thursday, the US, Japan and South Korea began large-scale joint military drills called “Freedom Edge” involving navy destroyers, fighter jets and the nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, aimed at boosting defences against missiles, submarines and air attacks.
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