North Korea threatens to exercise self-defense as it slams US-South Korea military drills

On Friday in Seoul, South Korea, North Korea issued a stern statement threatening to exercise its right to self-defense in response to upcoming joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea. Pyongyang slammed the scheduled exercises as a war rehearsal that it claims will be even more provocative than last year's drills.

Further compounding the tensions, North Korean officials accused the allied forces of actively preparing for a major confrontation. Consequently, the regime warned that it may respond to the exercises by implementing stronger deterrence measures, signaling heightened friction on the Korean Peninsula.