North Korea on Friday (August 14, 2026) threatened to exercise its right to self-defence in a statement that slammed the upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills as a war rehearsal that would be more provocative than last year.
North Korea “will more clearly express its stance on the enemies to cope with any threats and challenges through the responsible and decisive exercise of the right to legitimate self-defence. Mr. Kim has ignored the U.S. and South Korea’s offers to resume diplomacy and has focussed on taking steps to bolster his nuclear arsenal since his summitry with U.S.
President Donald Trump broke down in 2019.
The allies have said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against North Korean threats and reiterated that they are defensive in nature. In a statement carried by state media on Friday (August 14, 2026), North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the U.S.-South Korean training “a rehearsal for an aggressive war” that is triggering a different level of instability in the region. “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 said. North Korea also said the drills would be of a “more serious provocative nature and dangerousness than last year” and involve all the military assets and war-fighting modes of the US and South Korea, a claim that those countries haven’t said.
