Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

North Korea vows “merciless retaliation” over US-South Korea military drills

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s military unleashed its standard fiery threats on Tuesday (Aug 22) to greet the start of annual United States-South Korean military drills that the North claims are an invasion rehearsal.

South Korean police officers aiming their machine guns during an anti-terror drill as part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, in Goyang, South Korea on Monday, Aug 21, 2017. US and South Korean troops kicked off their annual drills on Monday that come after US President Donald Trump and North Korea exchanged war-like rhetoric in the wake of the North's two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month. Photo: AP

South Korean police officers aiming their machine guns during an anti-terror drill as part of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise, in Goyang, South Korea on Monday, Aug 21, 2017. US and South Korean troops kicked off their annual drills on Monday that come after US President Donald Trump and North Korea exchanged war-like rhetoric in the wake of the North's two intercontinental ballistic missile tests last month. Photo: AP

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s military unleashed its standard fiery threats on Tuesday (Aug 22) to greet the start of annual United States-South Korean military drills that the North claims are an invasion rehearsal.

The North’s military says it will launch an unspecified “merciless retaliation and unsparing punishment” on the United States over the Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills that began on Monday.

The North Korean rhetoric came as top US generals, including Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of US forces in the Pacific, visited South Korea.

The US generals were to travel to the site of a contentious US missile-defense system in South Korea later on Tuesda.

North Korea has previously issued similar war-like rhetoric whenever US and South Korean troops conducted major joint exercises.

An unprompted direct attack is extremely unlikely because the United States vastly outguns Pyongyang.AP

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.