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Kim Yo-jong, director of the General Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. / Yonhap

North Korea lashed out at U.S.-led multinational military exercises, denouncing them as the root cause worsening the situation on the Korean Peninsula and across the region.

The Korean Central News Agency reported on the 18th that Kim Yo-jong, director of the General Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued a press statement titled "The Routine U.S.-Led Demonstration of War Is the Primary Factor Aggravating the Situation on the Korean Peninsula and the Region."

Referring to Pacific Vanguard 2026, a multinational combined naval exercise recently staged by the U.S. in waters off Guam with nations including South Korea and Japan, Kim called it "thoroughly another threatening war game devised by the U.S. for bloc confrontation in the region." She went on to list other U.S.-led military exercises, such as Cobra Gold, Pitch Black, RIMPAC, and Super Garuda Shield.

She further argued, "They seek to maintain hegemony by relying on the military might of an exclusive bloc. This indicates that belligerent military moves spearheaded by the U.S. are being bolstered around the trilateral military coordination system of the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, which is in full-scale operation." She added, "The gravity of these military actions is further accentuated by the reality that their target is none other than the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

Kim stated, "Our resolve to defend our sovereignty will be demonstrated through even clearer actions, and there will not be the slightest change of course on our path toward advancing our nuclear war deterrence." She continued, "I once again remind that should the enemies' military maneuvers be judged as having gravely infringed upon the nation's supreme interests, military sovereignty, and regional security environment, the armed forces of the Republic will invoke provisions in accordance with constitutional duties and mobilize all available means."

Meanwhile, Kim's statement was not published in Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea.

                                                                                                            Lee Han-sol