N. Korea denounces S Korea-US joint military drills, vows to bolster nuclear deterrent

North Korea on Monday denounced a recent South Korea-U.S. combined military exercise that integrates South Korea’s conventional military capabilities with U.S. nuclear capabilities, saying strengthening the North’s nuclear capabilities is “immutable” against such a backdrop.

In a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee, claimed the drill, named Iron Mace, was “the most hideous nuclear war rehearsal aimed at using nuclear weapons against the DPRK.”

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.

Iron Mace, he said, only proves “how just the DPRK is in its efforts for ceaselessly bolstering up its nuclear forces capable of thoroughly coping with such nuclear threats.”

South Korea and the U.S. conducted the tabletop exercise at the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 to deter North Korean threats.

Kim also denounced other allied drills, including Hoguk and Freedom Flag, as well as Keen Sword, a U.S.-Japan exercise, arguing “the enemies have intensified its military moves in public or behind closed doors.”

All of this, he said, shows the North must keep its adversaries in check with stronger nuclear means.

“The reality teaches once again the underlying truth that strength is peace and peace is guaranteed only by strength,” he warned.

Kim said Pyongyang will ensure that its nuclear deterrent “defends the sovereignty and security of the state and regional peace in a responsible manner.”

Strengthening that deterrent at an ever faster pace to counter existing and potential threats is an “immutable” national defense policy, he added.