Seoul, July 13 (IANS) North Korea, on Sunday, blasted recent combined air drills conducted by South Korea, the US and Japan, saying such joint military actions are “the main danger factors heightening the level of the military tension” on the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding region.

“We express serious concern over their hostile acts of persistently conducting provocative and threatening military actions while deliberately ignoring the security concern of the North Korea and strongly warn of the grave consequences to be entailed by them on the regional situation,” the head of the North Korean Defence Ministry’s policy office said in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

On Friday, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said the three nations had held the air drills over international waters off the southern South Korean island of Jeju and involved at least one US B-52H bomber — the strategic bomber’s first deployment near the Korean Peninsula this year, Yonhap news agency reported.

The North Korean official also charged that the tripartite military alliance has “completely changed into a nuclear-based triangular military alliance”.

“Irresponsible acts of the US, Japan and the South Korea steadily heightening the level of tension and danger on the Korean peninsula should be closely watched and deterred,” North Korea’s statement added.

“It is our just sovereign right to take countermeasures against provocative military actions such as the moves to strengthen the multilateral military alliance threatening the security of the region and the joint military drills with clear aggressive character.”

On July 11, South Korea, the US and Japan held combined air drills on Friday as part of efforts to strengthen their joint response against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, South Korea’s Defence Ministry said.

The exercise took place over international waters off the southern South Korean island of Jeju and involved at least one US B-52H bomber as well as South Korea’s KF-16 and Japan’s F-2 fighters, according to the Ministry.

It marked the strategic bomber’s first deployment near the Korean Peninsula this year.

“Based on close coordination, the three countries will cooperate to jointly deter and respond to North Korea’s threats while continuing with three-way training,” it said in a statement.

The exercise came as the top military officers of the three countries convened in Seoul for a regular meeting to discuss the security situation and ways to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation.

It came less than a month after South Korea, the US and Japan conducted joint aerial drills on June 18, in what marked the first such exercise held under the Lee Jae Myung government.

–IANS

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