Government expresses regret over North Korea's threat of 'strengthened next measures' indicating further provocations

Lim Suseok, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Regular Briefing on the 1st
Refutes Statement by North Korean Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The government expressed "deep regret" over North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs raising the issue of the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises and threatening with "enhanced next measures," indicating the possibility of additional provocations.

At a regular briefing on the 1st, Lim Soo-seok, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated, "The government will maintain a strong South Korea-U.S. joint defense posture and respond firmly and unitedly in cooperation with the international community against any provocations by North Korea."

Regarding the South Korea-U.S. joint air exercise 'Vigilant Storm,' which North Korea criticized, he emphasized, "The annual and defensive military exercises conducted by South Korea and the U.S. are measures that a responsible government must take to ensure that our citizens can live their daily lives with peace of mind."

He added, "North Korea tries to shift the responsibility for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula to South Korea and the U.S., but the international community knows who is actually threatening neighboring countries with nuclear weapons and missiles, and who is violating Security Council resolutions by carrying out unprecedented provocations."

He further urged, "We strongly call on North Korea to immediately halt its illegal provocations and respond to the bold initiative proposed by our government to promptly return to the denuclearization dialogue table."

Earlier, on the 31st of last month, North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs threatened through a spokesperson's statement in the morning regarding the start of the South Korea-U.S. joint air exercise Vigilant Storm, warning that if the U.S. continues military provocations, it would consider "enhanced next stage measures."

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