INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
North Korea on Monday demanded that the United States and South Korea stop large-scale military exercises, calling them a provocation that
may draw &more powerful follow-up measures& from Pyongyang, Reuters reported.The situation in the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity has
entered the serious confrontation phase of power for power again due to the ceaseless and reckless military moves of the US and south
Korea,& North Korea&s foreign ministry said in a statement carried on the country&s official KCNA news agency.According to Reuters the
United States and South Korea began one of their largest combined military air drills on Monday, with hundreds of warplanes from both sides
staging mock attacks 24 hours a day for the better part of a week.The operation, called Vigilant Storm, will run until Friday, and will
feature about 240 warplanes conducting about 1,600 sorties, the US Air Force said.Washington and Seoul believe Pyongyang may be about to
resume testing of nuclear bombs for the first time since 2017 and have embraced a strategy of &deterring& Pyongyang through major military
drills that some current and former officials say may exacerbate tensions.The foreign ministry statement said North Korea was &ready to take
all necessary measures for defending its sovereignty, people&s security and territorial integrity from outside military threats.If the US
continuously persists in the grave military provocations, the DPRK will take into account more powerful follow-up measures,& it said, using
the initials of North Korea&s official name.If the US does not want any serious developments not suited to its security interests, it should
stop the useless and ineffective war exercises at once
If not, it will have to totally take the blame for all the consequences.On Friday, South Korean troops finished the 12-day Hoguk 22 field
exercises, which featured mock amphibious landings and river crossings, including some drills with US forces, read the report.North Korea
condemns the joint drills as a rehearsal for invasion and proof of hostile policies by Washington and Seoul
It has launched missiles, conducted air drills, and fired artillery into the sea in response to the exercises.It has ignored repeated US
calls to resume talks over its nuclear and missile programs and has instead embarked on an unprecedented spate of missile testing this year,
read the report.US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Monday reiterated calls for North Korea to return to talks, while adding that
US policy of seeking the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula had not changed.He was asked at a news briefing about comments
last week by a senior US official responsible for nuclear policy who raised some eyebrows by saying Washington would be willing to engage in
arms-control talks with North Korea, something some experts say would require recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.Asked if the
United States would eventually recognize North Korea as such, Price replied: &That is not our policy
I do not foresee that ever becoming our policy.The post N
Korea demands the US, South Korea halt joint military drills first appeared on Ariana News.
