Seoul, Aug. 2 North Korea on Saturday lambasted recent US military drills with South Korean and Japanese forces, accusing them of being preparations for "preemptive strikes" against it.
The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, made the accusation in an article, taking issue with US-led air drills that began last month near Japan and recent air logistics drills between South Korean and US Marines.
"(They) are aimed at conducting pre-emptive strikes against our Republic," the article read. "To ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, indiscriminate military actions by the United States, Japan and South Korea must stop."
The article also criticised ongoing trilateral military cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan, accusing it of being intended to "crush" the North by collective military force, Yonhap news agency reported.
It said it is only "fair and upright" for the North to bolster its defence force in response to such activities.
South Korea has recently made efforts to strengthen three-way security cooperation with the United States and Japan amid evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
North Korea on Friday slammed the US and Japan for turning their alliance into a threatening "nuclear" coalition, claiming the move justifies its own defence buildup.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism in an article by a North Korean international affairs analyst, citing last year's upgrade of US-Japan consultations on extended deterrence to the ministerial level and the two countries' recent reaffirmation of extended deterrence guidelines.
Extended deterrence refers to the US' stated commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its ally.
North Korea also cited Japanese authorities' recent tour to a base for US B-52 strategic bombers and the staging of a joint military drill simulating nuclear use.
It claimed that the US is driving the regional situation to a "dangerous touch-and-go" condition by deploying nuclear strategic assets at naval and air bases in Hawaii, Guam and Japan and staging joint military drills with its "junior allies."
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