Rodong Sinmun carried a commentator's article "On gravity of military drills by US and its stooges" on March 28. The following is the full text:

The situation on the Korean peninsula is reaching the limit beyond the red line every moment.

The US ever-escalating war hysteria and moves to stifle the DPRK in March are inching close to an intolerably grave phase.

The DPRK already warned that the reckless military provocations and war drills by the US against it would drive the situation on the Korean peninsula to a critical point of outbreak of a nuclear war.

However, the US and the south Korean puppet traitors are becoming ever more bellicose and frantic in their attempt to invade the DPRK.

Despite the stern warning of the DPRK government and the righteous demand of the international community to stop the military provocations and war drills disturbing peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region, the US showed its option with more open attempts to invade the DPRK and real action.

Early this month the US staged joint war drills in the sea and the air by dispatching a nuclear submarine, Aegis destroyers, strategic bombers, combat drones and other major strategic assets to south Korea one after another. From March 13 it, together with the south Korean puppets, staged a large-scale joint military exercise Freedom Shield, simulating an all-out war against the DPRK, going beyond the plan for precision strike and "preemptive strike" at someone's nuclear and missile facilities.

It was brought to light that the large-scale combined exercises Freedom Shield, which was restored last year, was not an “annual exercise of defensive nature” as repeated by the US and the south Korean puppets.

The recent drills consisted of "landing on Wonsan," "occupying Pyongyang" and "beheading operation" aimed at sudden strikes on the strategic bases of the DPRK in accordance with OPLAN 5015. They were the longest-ever exercises that continued day and night for 11 days not in the conventional mode; they were coducted in the way of just "occupying and stabilizing."

During this period the US conducted the highest-level military actions against the DPRK in the sky above major areas of the Korean peninsula by mobilizing all sorts of reconnaissance assets including the plane of the US Army with "air reconnaissance electronic warfare system" and RC-135V and RC-135S of the US Air Force.

Before and after "Freedom Shield," the US and the south Korean puppet military warmongers staged such war drills as joint river-crossing operations, joint airdrop and mobile drill, joint war materiel supply drill and joint scientific combat drill in the air, land and sea.

Meanwhile, the south Korean confrontation maniacs independently staged innumerable drills including "a drill for special inspection of decisive posture in 2023" conducted by the operation command of the puppet Air Force from March 13 to 15, crying out for "punishment."

Before the powder smell was removed, the US and the south Korean puppets are staging Ssangyong, the largest-ever joint landing drill they had discontinued for five years since 2018, from March 20.

The US has mobilized in the joint landing drill aimed at "occupying Pyongyang" tens of warships including the US Navy's amphibious assault ship Makin Island, which is known as a light carrier with 20 F-35B stealth fighters, 70-odd fighters of various kinds, 50 amphibious assault armoured vehicles and 10 000-odd troops in collusion with the south Korean puppets.

The US Air Force secretary and the commander of the US Seventh Air Force flew into the puppet area to consult a scenario for a war against the north, and the commander of the US Pacific Marines controlling 70 percent of the US Marines came there again and guided the drill.

The drill includes "convoy operation" for the movement of the landing force to the safe target area, "minesweeping operation", "advance force operation" and "decisive action".

In particular, the combined and joint forces of the US and the south Korean puppet army are to occupy the target area from the seas and the sky on the "decisive action" stage.

The introduction of special warfare units of its satellite country involved in the past Korean war and the US Navy's Nimitz-led carrier strike group in the drill proves that the US option against the DPRK is not confined to military operations but has evolved into the phase of a actual crime.

This strike group consisting of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, the aegis destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Decatur and others of the 11th aircraft carrier landing group of the US Navy staged a joint naval drill, which was allegedly planned to improve the extended deterrence executive ability through the deployment of the US strategic assets, in the waters off the southern part of Jeju Island on March 27. Then it entered the Port of Pusan on March 28 for another war exercise.

The US and the south Korean puppets are now scheming to stage the largest-ever "combined and joint firepower annihilation drill" involving the joint forces of the army, navy and air force with all the latest weapons in June.

All these military exercises of the enemy for demonstration clearly show that they are military actions for a preemptive attack which cannot be overlooked any longer as they are waged after making a war of aggression against the DPRK a fait accompli.

The scales and periods of these military exercises are far larger and longer than those of the past, many offensive weapons are being involved, and such actions are being conducted nonstop day and night every month and every week.

The deployment of the most offensive military equipment and even the nuclear carrier strike group is tantamount to an open declaration of war against the DPRK.

The reckless acts conducted by the south Korean puppets against the backdrop of the confrontation campaign of the US are also ridiculous.

Shortly ago, the defence minister of south Korea clamoured that "the north is threatening world peace and stability going beyond the Korean peninsula through various missile provocations including ICBM," stressing the need to "further intensify the drills in such time".

And the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of south Korea, who boarded USS Nimitz on March 27, revealed his confrontation hysteria with shallow and impudent rhetoric expressions and manners of speaking and showed "bravery," clamouring that "the south Korea-US alliance would resolutely and overwhelmingly counter any provocation and aggression by the enemy and mete out a stern punishment in case of emergency."

All the facts go to clearly prove that the frantic war drills in the puppet region are not just military drills but nuclear war drills for a preemptive strike against the DPRK from A to Z in their essence, nature, scale, content and form, pursuant to the US political and military option to escalate confrontation with the DPRK and finally go to war.

The US, hell-bent on dangerous sabre-rattling in the puppet region, is the very one that disturbs peace and stability in Northeast Asia including the Korean peninsula and the arch criminal that escalates tension there.

The present acute situation is entirely attributable to the US and its vassal forces trying to stifle the DPRK by force at any cost. To build up physical strength capable of deterring it is a matter of the DPRK's right to self-defence which no one can slander.

It is quite natural for the nuclear force of the DPRK to fulfil its important mission to cope with the grave situation in which the sovereignty and security of the state are under threat.