A spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army on August 22 issued the following press statement "The Situation of the Republic of Korea Clouded with Powder Smoke Will Further Bolster the Full Readiness of Our Army":

Despite the unanimous concern and rejection of the public at home and abroad, the United States and the ROK clans finally started the large-scale joint military drill "Ulji Freedom Shield" on August 18.

The joint military drill "Ulji Freedom Shield", being staged on land, at sea and in the air of the Republic of Korea under the deceptive signboard of "shield of freedom", is an extremely provocative and aggressive large-scale drill for an actual war clearly aimed at a sudden preemptive attack on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as it is an actual command and field maneuvering drill for applying and mastering new manuals and methods of modern warfare in actual conditions of the Korean peninsula.

The gravity and danger of the drill lie in the fact that it includes the application of "OPLAN 2022", a war scenario simulating "preemptive strike against origin" as regards the nuclear facilities of the DPRK, and various kinds of exercises staged by forces and mechanized strike groups of regimental-level and above to maneuver in attacking formation and fire live shells.

The reckless war drill of the US and ROK warmongers is seriously threatening the security environment of the DPRK and pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula and in the region to the extreme tension.

Particularly, some warships belonging to the British army which were engaged in the joint maritime drill in the Pacific entered the Pusan operational base and other forces of member states of the "UN Command" participated in the joint military drill, and thus the "Ulji Freedom Shield" completely turned into a multinational joint military drill and the military threats against the DPRK were redoubled.

All the facts clearly show once again that the adventurous military drill of the United States and the Republic of Korea leads to the destruction of balance of power in the region and the chief culprit of harassing peace on the Korean peninsula is none other than the United States and the Republic of Korea.

No place in the world is like the surrounding area of the DPRK where huge forces are concentrated and conduct actual military drills.

The full readiness of our army to perfectly contain and smash any hostile military moves against the DPRK will be further bolstered.

The DPRK army, as already declared, will respond to the military provocations of the hostile forces posing direct threat to the safety of the country with proper and indiscriminate exercise of the right to self-defence.