'Nuclear war rehearsal': North Korea to strengthen deterrent after US-South Korea drills

SEOUL: North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of conducting a military drill known as Iron Mace, claiming it was a rehearsal for a nuclear attack on the North. Deputy director of the Workers' Party, Kim Jong Sik, stated that the drill showed the US maintained its "wild ambition to stifle North Korea with nukes" and that the threats were escalating daily. He argued that the joint military activities between the US and South Korea highlighted the necessity for North Korea to accelerate its nuclear forces.

The US and South Korea conducted Iron Mace, an exercise designed to integrate US nuclear capabilities with South Korean conventional forces, between September 29 and October 2, according to the South Korean military. Analysts noted that it was unusual for Kim, a crucial official overseeing North Korea's nuclear and missile development and production, to release such a statement.

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies suggested that Kim's role may be expanding to encompass nuclear and missile policy.

Tensions between the two Koreas have increased following a border mine explosion in September, which prompted North Korea to threaten the resumption of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts toward the South by the end of October. However, South Korea's military said there were no confirmed indications that Pyongyang had followed through on the threat.