North Korea criticized the deployment of U.S. F-35 fighter jets for joint exercises with South Korea after Seoul’s president visited the White House and pledged to raise the country’s defense spending.
The U.S. and South Korea are in the middle of military drills that Pyongyang has condemned as provocative and threatening the fragile peace on the peninsula.
Why It Matters
North Korea has officially shed the long-held goal of reunification with the south, while forging ahead with an intensive military buildup and its weapons development programs.
Western officials and experts believe Russia offered a helping hand in its military programs, and Pyongyang is sharply critical of U.S. ties to South Korea and Japan—countries looking on with deep anxiety at the North’s burgeoning nuclear arsenal, intercontinental ballistic missile tests and showcasing of hypersonic designs.
South Korea’s new government has said it hopes to reduce tensions with the north, aspirations Pyongyang appears to have dismissed.
U.S. soldiers from 2nd Infantry Division, participate in a UFS/TIGER Combined Urban Operations plan as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises at Wollong Urban Area Operatiions training center, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023 on Paju in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
Jeon Heion-Kyun/EPA via AP, Pool
What To Know
More than 10 U.S. F-35s arrived in South Korea on Monday to take part in annual military exercises, and “are now engaged in intensive training day and night,” Kim Yong Bok, the first vice-chief of the General Staff in North Korea’s army, said in a statement published by state media.
Kim appeared to reference reports in South Korean media earlier this year that the U.S. military was considering permanently deploying F-35A fighter jets at Kunsan Air Base, a major facility in western South Korea. A U.S. Air Force (USAF) spokesperson said in early May there were currently no plans to have F-35s stationed in the country year-round.
“With the possibility of the permanent or routine deployment of F-35 stealth fighters in Kunsan or other U.S. military bases in the ROK becoming the topic of discussion due to their participation in the drill, all kinds of F-35 fighters including F-35A, F-35B and F-35 Lightning II are taking part in the drill, claiming that they are training the capability to carry out the combined operation with the ROK army,” Kim said. ROK, or Republic of Korea, is South Korea’s official name.
“This is a new record in the history of the adventurous U.S.-ROK war drills,” the North Korean military official said.
F-35s are fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, the most advanced type of fighter jet currently in operation. Nineteen countries plus the U.S. have signed up to receive, or already use, F-35s.
The U.S. does not permanently station F-35s in South Korea, but sends the aircraft to the country for drills. South Korea’s military operates its own fleet of F-35s.
The U.S.’s joint military exercises with South Korea, dubbed Ulchi Freedom Shield, are held each year and kicked off on August 18. U.S. and South Korean forces also held another set of drills in March.
Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are expected to wrap up on Thursday, although some of the drills have been postponed until September. General Xavier Brunson, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea and the head of the United Nations’ Command (UNC)—the multinational command in the country—has said the drills are purely defensive.
The 2024 versions of the exercises practiced for the first time how to respond to a hypothetical North Korean nuclear strike, South Korea’s military said at the time, according to comments carried by domestic media. Reacting to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs—as well as to nuclear attacks—are also a key part of 2025 exercises, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier this month.
“It has turned into the biggest, the longest and the worst war drill in the world,” Kim said. The North Korean official said the drills showed “typical Yankee-style arrogance,” adding: “We are watching everything carefully and ready to cope with any situation.”
South Korean president Lee Jae Myung, who took office in June, said during a visit to Washington on Monday Seoul would raise defense spending and “take on a more leading role in maintaining security on the Korean peninsula.” The U.S. has urged its allies to spend more on their militaries as Washington refocuses its attention on China.
South Korea and North Korea remain technically at war after an armistice agreement brought the Korean War to a close in 1953. The decades since have been marked by fluctuating tensions, and relations in recent years on the peninsula have become more strained.
The UNC said on Sunday roughly 30 North Korean soldiers had crossed the border on the peninsula earlier in the week, with Seoul firing warning shots at the troops and blasting warnings.
The North Korean soldiers crossed the Military Demarcation Line on Tuesday in an area where the northern country had been “conducting construction and maintenance activities,” a spokesperson for the command said, in remarks reported by South Korean media. Pyongyang said the North Koreans were carrying out “a permanent barrier project near the southern border line.”
The warning shots fired by the south were a “serious provocation,” Pyongyang said. Seoul’s military said the soldiers returned north of the military demarcation line and did not return fire.
What People Are Saying
Kim Yong Bok, the first vice-chief of the General Staff in North Korea’s army, said: “The U.S. and the ROK sides would be well advised to bear in mind that if they continuously persist in the above-said military rehearsal, they will certainly face up the unpleasant situation and pay a dear price.”
General Xavier Brunson, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said earlier this month: “Ulchi Freedom Shield 25 is our premier exercise, a critical demonstration of the enduring strength of the U.S.-ROK Alliance and our commitment to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
What Happens Next
This round of joint exercises are scheduled to finish on Thursday.
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