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By Micah McCartney
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North Korea has issued a sharp rebuke over the major military exercise being carried out by the U.S. and its South Korean ally, labeling the training a "war rehearsal."
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon and the South Korean embassy in the U.S. by email with a request for comment.
Why It Matters
North Korea frequently condemns U.S.-led drills on its doorstep, characterizing them as provocations that justify the Kim Jong Un regime's expansion of its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile arsenal.
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The U.S., which stations over 28,000 troops in South Korea, has joined its ally in their annual Freedom Shield exercise to strengthen interoperability with an eye on the North. Pyongyang fired multiple ballistic missiles in apparent warning as the drills kicked off Monday. It was the North Korean missile launch of 2025.
What To Know
The ongoing drills constitute "an aggressive and confrontational war rehearsal," North Korean state media outlet the Korean Central News Agency said Monday.
Under the pretence of nuclear deterrence, "warmongers" South Korea and the U.S. are using the exercise to practice a "preemptive attack" on North Korean nuclear weapons facilities, the outlet stated. The report observed this year's iteration of the exercise is larger in scope and also involves local government, police, and civilian participants.
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Freedom Shield 25 demonstrates "who is the arch criminal aggravating the situation on the Korean peninsula," KCNA added.
Although the exercise will run until March 20 as scheduled, live-fire exercises have been suspended after South Korean fighter jets on Thursday accidentally dropped eight air to surface bombs on a village just 20 miles south of the North Korean border, injuring 31.
South Korean officials said the incident was caused by human error, saying a pilot had input the wrong strike coordinates before taking off.
What's Been Said
U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement: "Freedom Shield 25 underscores the enduring military partnership between the ROK [Republic of Korea] [...] It reinforces the role of the alliance as the lynchpin for regional peace and security, reaffirming the ironclad commitment between the United States and the Republic of Korea to defend their homelands."
What's Next?
Against the backdrop of simmering inter-Korean tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he intends to reach out to Kim.
Trump met with Kim on three occasions during his first term, with the goal of securing a drawdown of North Korea's nuclear program. The 41-year-old leader has vowed to continue expanding his nuclear capabilities regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.
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