North Korea calls military drills between South Korea, Japan and the United States as an “Asian version of NATO”. 

According to North Korean State Media this Saturday, joint military exercises carried out by South Korea, Japan, and the United States have been heavily criticized by North Korean officials, claiming that such drills show that the relationship between the three countries has developed into the “Asian version of NATO”. The comments came three days after the drills between the countries had begun, under an operation called the “Freedom Edge”. Amidst escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula between the North and the South, these drills spark suspicion among North Korean leaders. 

The “Freedom Edge” Operation

South Korea, Japan, and the United States began large-scale joint military drills under what they call the “Freedom Edge” operation on Thursday, involving navy destroyers, fighter jets, and the nuclear powered U.S aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. The operations have been carried out with the aim of boosting defenses against missiles, submarines and air attacks. To strengthen military cooperation amid escalating tensions within the Korean peninsula, these military exercises had been devised at the three-way summit at Camp David last year. These tensions come primarily from North Korea’s increased weapons testing as of late, according to Seoul’s defense ministry, which claims that “Freedom Edge” is merely a retaliation to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. 

Retaliation by North Korea

According to a statement made by North Korea’s foreign ministry to KCNA News Agency, Pyongyang will refuse to ignore the strengthening of a military bloc led by the United States. They also claimed that North Korea and its allies would maintain regional peace through an aggressive and overwhelming response. The ministry also accused Washington of continuing its effort to adopt South Korea and Japan into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), adding South Korea’s attempts to supply arms to Ukraine. South Korea has dismissed Pyongyang’s criticism. 

North Korea and the International World

North Korea had recently strengthened its bilateral ties with Russia, with a visit from the President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang, where the two leaders signed a pact that ensures military assistance from either side if the other gets attacked. South Korea says it would review the possibility of supplying arms to Ukraine in response to the pact signed earlier this week. 

At the United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday, the United States, France, and Britain accused Russia of violating an arms embargo on North Korea by using their missiles and munitions in Ukraine. Russia denied all allegations. The bloc also called out China, saying it should use its influence over the two countries to end  “this increasingly dangerous military cooperation” and maintain regional peace, in response to which China strongly rejected the accusations that it was strengthening North Korea by not condemning Russia’s actions. 

North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea (DPRK) has been under UN Sanctions since 2006 for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, measures which have been strengthened over the years. Russia and China have wanted some of these sanctions to be eased, but the draft resolutions had never been put to vote for fear that they would fail.