On August 18, the Institute for American Studies of the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) released the following press statement: “To bolster up self-defensive power for defending the security environment of the Korean peninsula and the region is a pressing need of the times”:

The U.S. and the ROK are going to stage Ulji Freedom Shield, large-scale provocative joint military exercises, from August 19 to 29.

Even other vassal countries affiliated to the “UN Command” will reportedly take part in the exercises involving 48 rounds of various outdoor mobile trainings such as live firing and landing drill on the sea and in the sky.

With this, Ulji Freedom Shield fully betrays its dangerous colours as the biggest military training in the Asia-Pacific region and offensive multinational muscle-flexing involving even NATO member states.

The Institute for American Studies of the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK makes public this press statement to disclose the rash confrontational moves of the U.S. and the ROK escalating regional military confrontation and contradiction by kicking off such aggressive large-scale joint military exercises despite strong internal and external opposition.

Is Ulji Freedom Shield “defensive” and “transparent”  

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State recently termed the U.S.-ROK joint military exercises “regular” and “defensive”, touting their “transparency.”

This is no more than rhetoric to cover up the dangerous and grave nature of their joint military drills and evade criticism from the international community.

It is clearly recorded in the world history of wars that in preparation for a war, aggressor states followed a series of procedures, including adoption of war policy and military operation plan for its execution, advance deployment of forces, ceaseless simulated and actual war drills and finally, war provocation.

The current U.S. administration has more openly pursued the policy of using nuclear weapons against the DPRK by specifying the “end of regime” in the DPRK as a goal in its “nuclear posture review” made public after its inauguration.

It has put into practice its nuclear confrontation policy against the DPRK by releasing the “Washington Declaration”, establishing a new U.S.-ROK “nuclear consultative group” and cooking up the “guidelines on nuclear strategic plan and its operation.”

According to the guidelines, nuclear-powered American submarines frequented the waters near the Korean Peninsula in 2023, seven times as much as that in 2022, and the number of flights by its fighters and bombers in the sky above the peninsula has quadrupled.

Against this backdrop, nuclear carriers are being deployed there one after another along with the massive introduction of the U.S. latest war hardware such as F-35 stealth fighters and SM-6 ship-to-air interceptor missiles.

F-16 fighters, which had been stationed in the Kunsan air base, were moved to the Osan air base near Seoul to form a “super-powerful wing.”

And the offensive assets of the U.S. are being concentrated on the areas near the southern border of the DPRK.

Worse still, the number of outdoor mobile trainings, staged as part of Ulji Freedom Shield, increased to 38 in 2023 and 48 in 2024.

The trainings have now evolved into provocative ones such as special war training aimed at “occupation of Pyongyang” and “beheading operation.”

Notably, the current exercises, including a drill simulating a nuclear confrontation with the DPRK, made even clearer the provocative nature of Ulji Freedom Shield as a prelude to a nuclear war.

“Transparency” of the joint military drills touted by the U.S. is no more than trickery to deceive the international community.

Most of the countries, which are to “observe” whether the U.S.-ROK joint military exercises are being staged in conformity with the requirements of the Korean Armistice Agreement, are member states of the “UN Command” or NATO member states under the manipulation of the U.S.

So it is self-evident that it is utterly impossible to expect any neutrality or impartiality from them.

All the above indicates that Ulji Freedom Shield is neither “defensive” nor “transparent” but the world’s most offensive and provocative war drills for aggression.

What impact do the U.S.-led joint military exercises have on international peace and stability  

It is typical of the U.S. to pursue its unilateral and absolute security at the cost of security and interests of other nations.

It is clearly evidenced by the fact that the U.S. and its vassal countries have staged more than 200 joint military drills around the world annually, which are evolving into something more threatening in nature.

As for RIMPAC kicked off in 1971 against the former Soviet Union, the joint military maneuvers didn’t disappear despite the end of the Soviet-U.S.

Cold War but have rather developed into the world’s biggest multinational maritime joint military drills under the pretext of “defeating” a new “virtual enemy.”

From late June to early August this year, RIMPAC was staged in the largest-scale ever, involving 40 warships, three submarines, 150-odd aircrafts and 25 000 troops from 29 countries.

International security experts unanimously commented that the forms and contents of RIMPAC clearly prove that they are aimed at laying siege to and deter China.

U.S.-led joint military drills are also being staged frequently in Europe, now in distress with the world’s worst-ever security crisis brought by the Ukrainian incident.

This sparked off great concern of the international community.

The U.S.-led joint military exercises Steadfast Defender were staged in the largest scale ever since the end of the Cold War near the border of Russia from January to May this year with the involvement of more than 90 000 forces, more than 50 warships including aircraft carriers, 80-odd fighter jets and over 1 100 combat vehicles.

The exercises, aimed at restoring the ever-dampening atmosphere of supporting Ukraine among European countries and inducing them to increase military expenditure, fully demonstrate the hostile intention of the U.S. to deter Russia militarily and seize the military hegemony in the region.

It is the fact never to be concealed and denied that the U.S.-led joint military drills are the root cause of escalating military confrontation and sustained instability across the world.

What is the best solution to ensure peace and stability  

Of late, the U.S. secretaries of State and Defense and the National Security Advisor of the White House, through an article jointly contributed to the press, betrayed the sinister intention to seize military hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region.

The U.S. means to involve not only the vassal countries within the region like Japan and the ROK but also those outside the region in its scheme.

This shows that the U.S.-led joint military drills have nothing to do with “preserving regional security” despite the joint advocacy of the U.S. and its allied forces but rather serve as a political and military means to take more countries on the confrontation chariot driven by them to realize the American hegemony.

Major NATO members are actually taking part in the recent U.S.-ROK joint military exercises in the capacity of member states of the “UN Command” and the military nexus between Japan, the ROK and NATO is now being reinforced.

The U.S., which recently included in its defense budgets the item of “Pacific deterrence plan” that aims at drastically reinforcing its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, has annually increased the allotment for carrying it out.

This foretells that the U.S. and its vassal countries would engage more openly in military intervention in the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity.

The prevailing situation calls for independent and sovereign states to constantly maintain the balance of power for preventing a war by stockpiling the greatest deterrence for guaranteeing their sovereignty, security and interests in every way in the uncertainty of the current and future security environment.

The more severe the collective military provocations of the U.S. and its vassal countries get, the stronger the deterrence of justice for neutralizing the threat, and ensuring regional and global peace and stability will become.

We will continue to make crucial efforts to build up strong defence capabilities for creditably defending our state sovereignty, security, interests and territorial integrity and to change the security environment of the Korean peninsula and the region in our favour.