Donald Trump posted a throwback photo with Kim Jong Un, reaffirming their good relationship. This comes as North Korea criticizes the US-South Korea ‘Ulchi Freedom Shield’ military drills, calling them provocations and a ‘nuclear alliance’.
Trump on Kim Jong Un: ‘We get along GREAT!’
US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) shared a throwback photograph with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, joking about their “unfriendly look” while reaffirming that the two get along well. “Despite the unfriendly look on this particular picture, there are many where we’re smiling, Kim Jong Un and I get along GREAT!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
North Korea Criticises US-South Korea Drills
Trump’s remarks came against the backdrop of North Korea’s criticism of the upcoming US-South Korea military exercises, saying the drills would heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Al Jazeera reported. The joint military drills, named “Ulchi Freedom Shield”, are scheduled to begin on August 17 and continue until August 27.
The exercises will include training to counter drones, GPS disruption and cyberattacks as the US and its allies seek to adapt to North Korea’s evolving military capabilities. North Korea has routinely criticised US-South Korea military exercises, describing them as provocations.
Pyongyang Warns of ‘New Level of Deterrent’
Spokesperson for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Friday said US-Japan-South Korea military cooperation was developing into a “nuclear alliance”, Al Jazeera reported, citing Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “The US-Japan-South Korea military cooperation is turning into a nuclear alliance, and North Korea will respond to a new level of threat with a new level of deterrent,” the spokesperson said
The spokesperson further said the upcoming exercises were different from those conducted over the past five years and were intended to improve the ability to conduct warfare based on “new aspects of modern warfare”. “It is our consistent principle of ensuring security to respond to a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent,” the statement published by KCNA added.
Recent Missile Launch
Meanwhile, on August 12, North Korea conducted a suspected ballistic missile launch on Wednesday, making it the second in less than a week, While Yonhap News Agency, citing the South Korean military, reported that Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Wednesday, the United States only referred to it as a “missile launch” as the US Pacific Command issued a statement shortly after the launch.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)