DPRK condemns trilateral military drills by US, Japan, ROK

SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday condemned the first-ever multi-domain military exercises involving the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), vowing to take countermeasures to safeguard its sovereignty and security, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

In a press statement issued by the external policy office of its foreign ministry on Sunday, the DPRK lashed out at the trilateral "Freedom Edge" multi-domain military drills held from Thursday to Saturday, calling them "a product of the organization, systematization and actualization of the US-Japan-ROK tripartite military bloc," and expressed its "strong denunciation" of the "repeated reckless and provocative" military moves by the three countries, the report said.

The regular tripartite joint military exercises clearly showed that "the US strategy for world domination to encircle and contain independent and sovereign states and secure its military hegemony has already crossed the red-line and is bringing about a very negative change in the world security environment and geopolitical structure," the report said.

The DPRK will "firmly defend the sovereignty, security and interests of the state and peace in the region through offensive and overwhelming countermeasures," the KCNA said, citing the statement.

The United States, Japan, and the ROK on Thursday commenced a three-day inaugural multi-domain exercise in waters off southern ROK, focusing on ballistic missile defense, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, maritime interdiction, defensive cyber training, the ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement Thursday.