A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued the following statement on October 31:

The situation on the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity has again entered the serious confrontation phase of power for power due to the ceaseless and reckless military moves of the U.S. and south Korea.

The large-scale field mobile exercise, “Hoguk”, was staged across south Korea from October 17 to 28, and a few days later, the largest-ever U.S.-south Korea joint air drill, “Vigilant Storm”, started.

This drill involving more than hundreds of fighters of different missions such as F-35Bs based in Japan is a war drill for aggression mainly aimed at striking the strategic targets of the DPRK in case of contingency on the Korean Peninsula.

Owing to the large-scale war exercises staged by the U.S. and its vassal forces almost every day this year, the Korean Peninsula remains the hotspot with most serious military tension in the world and the security circumstances in the region have become even grimmer.

In terms of period, scale, contents and density, the joint military exercises of the U.S. and its vassal forces have clearer aggressive nature than any other ones in the world.

The U.S.-south Korea joint military exercises, staged in April on a full scale through the “combined command exercises”, were turned into a large-scale field mobile drill “Ulji Freedom Shield” in August and then into large-scale joint naval exercises and the largest-ever joint air drill involving a nuclear carrier strike group in September and October. All the facts clearly show that the U.S. nuclear war scenario against the DPRK has entered the final stage.

That the U.S. describes the DPRK’s self-defensive military counteraction as an act of escalating tension is completely absurd and this is just like a guilty party filing the suit first. It is because the U.S. is staging such war exercises for aggression as the large-scale landing drill and “decapitation” of the leadership aimed at occupying the territory and depth of the opposite party.

The DPRK reminds them once again that the recent military drills by the units of the Korean People’s Army were carried out under the unstable security circumstances created by the U.S. and south Korea.

The U.S. is trying to shift the responsibility for the escalated tensions onto the DPRK after making it take a countermeasure by getting on its nerves militarily behind the signboard of “annual” and “defensive” exercises. But such a scheme can no longer work to conceal its true colors as the chief culprit in destroying peace and security.

The U.S., the one and only country in the world which sets it as a main target of nuclear strategy to “topple the government” of a sovereign state, must be prepared for paying an equal price for its attempt to use military force against the DPRK.

The DPRK is ready to take all necessary measures for defending its sovereignty, people’s security and territorial integrity from outside military threats. If the U.S. persists in the grave military provocations, the DPRK will consider taking more powerful follow-up measures.

If the U.S. does not want to see any serious developments which go against its security interests, it should stop the useless and ineffective war exercises all at once. If it failed to do so, it should be held totally responsible for all the consequences arising therefrom.