North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of pushing tensions to the verge of nuclear conflict through their joint military exercises, pledging to counter with "offensive action," according to state media outlet KCNA.
In a KCNA-published commentary by Choe Ju Hyon, identified as an international security analyst, the joint military exercises were criticized as being "a catalyst for propelling the situation on the Korean Peninsula towards an explosive point."
"The unbridled military confrontational frenzy of the U.S. and its followers against the DPRK is propelling the Korean Peninsula's situation towards an irreversible catastrophe ... to the edge of nuclear warfare," the article asserted, using the abbreviation for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The piece added, "Now, the international community unanimously hopes that the dark clouds of a nuclear war hovering over the Korean Peninsula will be removed as soon as possible."
Since March, the U.S. and South Korean forces have been participating in a series of annual springtime exercises, including air and sea drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier and B-1B and B-52 bombers, as well as their first large-scale amphibious landing exercises in five years.
The commentary specifically mentioned the aircraft carrier's involvement as intended to fuel confrontation, stating that Pyongyang would respond to the exercises by using its war deterrence through "offensive action."
"The drills have transformed the Korean Peninsula into a massive powder keg that could be ignited at any moment," the article warned.
North Korea has responded angrily to the exercises, labeling them as practice for an invasion.
In recent weeks, the country has escalated its military activities, showcasing new, smaller nuclear warheads, launching an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching any location in the U.S., and testing what it claimed to be a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone.
In a separate KCNA report, Han Tae Song, North Korea's permanent representative to its diplomatic mission in Geneva, vehemently criticized an annual resolution passed this week by the U.N. Human Rights Council concerning the country's human rights situation.
North Korea has long dismissed international censure of its human rights abuses as a U.S.-orchestrated scheme to topple its regime.
Han labeled the resolution as "an intolerable act of political provocation and hostility" and "the most heavily politicized document of deception."
