North Korea's Nuclear Threat Becomes Real... "Vigilant Storm, Enhanced Measures if Provocations Continue"

Joint US-ROK Air Exercise Until the 4th... Over 240 Military Aircraft Deployed
"If the US Continues Provocations, We Will Consider Stronger Next Measures"
North Korea's Pattern of Provocation Following Condemnation and Statements

Last January, Korean Central News Agency reported on a parade commemorating the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, revealing an improved version of the short-range ballistic missile 'North Korean Iskander'
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] North Korea threatened that it would consider a 'strengthened next measure' if military provocations continue in response to the South Korea-U.S. joint air exercise 'Vigilant Storm.' Given the recent pattern of repeating provocations after issuing condemnations or statements, concerns over North Korea's seventh nuclear test are expected to grow.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 1st, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a spokesperson's statement the day before, "We are prepared to take all necessary measures to defend the country's sovereignty, the safety of the people, and territorial integrity from external military threats, and if the United States continues to carry out severe military provocations, we will consider stronger next-step measures."

It added, "If the United States does not wish for the occurrence of a serious situation that does not at all align with its security interests, it must immediately stop the futile and invalid war exercises; otherwise, it will bear full responsibility for all consequences that follow."

Along with this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed, "Following the large-scale outdoor maneuver exercise 'Hoguk' conducted across South Korea from October 17 to 28, the largest-ever U.S.-South Korea joint air exercise 'Vigilant Storm' has started again just a few days later," and "Due to the continuous reckless military movements by the United States and South Korea, the situation on the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas has once again entered a serious brinkmanship phase."

In particular, it stated, "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea once again reminds that the recent military exercises of the Korean People's Army units were conducted in an unstable security environment created by the United States and South Korea," shifting responsibility for the rising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula back to the South.

Joint flight training of F-35A conducted by the ROK-US Air Forces in July [Photo provided by the Air Force]

Earlier, on the last day of the Hoguk exercise, the 28th, from 11:59 a.m. to 12:18 p.m., North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea from the Tongcheon area in Gangwon Province. According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the two missiles were detected flying approximately 230 km, reaching an altitude of about 24 km, at a speed of Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound).

At that time, North Korea also blamed the South for the provocation. The North Korean external propaganda outlet 'Meari' harshly criticized the Hoguk exercise as "reckless confrontation acts that increase military instability and danger on the Korean Peninsula," stating, "It clearly shows how far the warmongering bravado of the puppet military warmongers has reached."

In a subsequent statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the level of criticism against the United States, saying, "The United States is scheming to militarily provoke us under the banner of 'annual' and 'defensive' exercises to trigger our countermeasures and shift the responsibility for escalating tensions onto us, but they will not be able to hide their identity as the main culprit of peace and security destruction forever."

It also mentioned the recent U.S. strategic policy warning about North Korea's use of nuclear weapons, stating, "The United States, uniquely in the world, has made the 'end of regime' of a sovereign state a primary goal of its nuclear strategy, and if it attempts to use force against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, it must be prepared to pay an equal price."

Meanwhile, the joint air exercise Vigilant Storm, involving about 240 South Korean and U.S. military aircraft, began on the 31st. This large-scale joint air exercise is the first in five years since December 2017 and will continue until the 4th. According to the Air Force and the U.S. 7th Air Force Command, the exercise involves about 140 South Korean aircraft, including F-35A, F-15K, KF-16 fighters, and KC-330 aerial refueling tankers, and about 100 U.S. aircraft, including F-35B fighters, EA-18 electronic warfare aircraft, U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance planes, and KC-135 aerial refueling tankers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.