The US State Department rejected North Korea’s criticism of the US-ROK joint exercises, pointing out that North Korea continues its illegal actions under the guise of defensive exercises. We also reaffirmed our previous position that we have no hostile intentions towards North Korea. Reporter Jo Eun-jeong reports.
The US State Department stressed on the 23rd that the US-ROK joint training is a defensive exercise that poses no threat to North Korea.
A State Department spokesman made the statement in response to VOA’s request for comment on North Korean Workers’ Party Vice Minister Kim Yo-jong, who argued that the UN Security Council’s ignorance of the joint US-ROK . military exercises and addressing North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile launches involved the application of a clear double standard.
[국무부 대변인] “Our legitimate efforts to conduct routine and defensive military exercises in no way justify the DPRK’s continued escalating and illegal behavior. The DPRK is simply using this as an excuse to continue developing its illegal programs.”
“Our legitimate efforts to conduct routine defensive military exercises in no way justify North Korea’s continued illegal and escalating activities,” a State Department spokesman said. They use US training as an excuse. ”
In addition, he reiterated his previous position that “the United States has no hostile intentions toward North Korea.”
In a statement released to the Korean Central News Agency on the 22nd, Vice Minister Kim Yeo-jeong said, “On the 21st, under the direction of the United States, the United Nations Security Council held an open meeting to put our new intercontinental on trial. ‘Hwasongpo-17’ ballistic missile,” he said.
“It is a fact that the United Nations Security Council has turned a blind eye to the high-risk military exercises and the aggressive military build-up that the United States and South Korea are busy targeting the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and spoke of exercising our inviolable . right to self-defense in response. It’s an obvious double standard.”
This is Cho Eun-jung from VOA News.