Updated 10 March 2026 at 08:53 IST
North Korea Denounces US-South Korea Drills Amid Reports Of US Military Redeployment
Kim Yo Jong criticised ongoing US-South Korea drills as a "provocative war rehearsal" threatening stability, amid reports of US redeploying Patriot missiles from South Korea to the Middle East conflict. President Lee Jae Myung said Seoul was not in a position to make demands.
- World News
- 3 min read
Seoul: North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said U.S.-South Korea military drills that began this week were a "provocative and aggressive war rehearsal" that would harm regional stability, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.
The annual Freedom Shield military exercises revealed the allies' "habitual hostile policy" toward North Korea and "will further destroy regional stability," Kim said in a statement.
Kim described the drills in South Korea as involving more than 18,000 South Korean and U.S. forces and being staged "day and night across the territorial ground, sea, air, outer space and cyberspace" of North Korea.
South Korea and the United States have said the drills, which run from March 9 to 19, were "defensive in nature" and would incorporate deterrence scenarios related to North Korea's nuclear weapons.
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The exercise will also serve as an opportunity to support ongoing preparations for the transfer of U.S. wartime operational control to South Korea, officials from both countries have said.
South Korea aimed to complete the handover of military command from the U.S. before President Lee Jae Myung's term ends in 2030. The drills come a month after Kim Jong Un said at North Korea's ruling Party Congress that he would focus on expanding his country's nuclear arsenal.
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South Korea’s president addressed reports about U.S. forces potentially redeploying some weapons stationed in the country to the Middle East. South Korea cannot stop U.S. forces in Korea from redeploying some weapons, President Lee Jae Myung said on Tuesday, after reports that some U.S. Patriot missile defence systems were being sent to the conflict in the Middle East.
"It appears that there is controversy recently over U.S. Forces in Korea shipping some weapons, such as artillery batteries and air-defence weapons, out of the country," Lee said in a cabinet meeting, noting while Seoul had expressed opposition it was not in a position to make demands.
Lee also said the removal of some U.S. weapons from the country "does not hinder deterrence strategy towards North Korea," noting South Korea's defence spending and conventional capabilities far exceeded the equivalent in North Korea.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Friday the U.S. and South Korean militaries were discussing the possible redeployment of some U.S. Patriot missile defence systems based in South Korea to be used in the conflict in the Middle East.
Local media reported the batteries were shipped out of Osan Air Base and were likely to be redeployed to U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, though South Korean authorities have not confirmed these reports.
U.S. and Israeli forces have been striking strategic targets inside Iran for more than a week under a campaign that Trump said was aimed at crippling Iran's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities.
South Korea hosts a major U.S. military presence in combined defence against nuclear-armed North Korea, with about 28,500 troops and surface-to-air defence systems, including the Patriot missile interceptors.
Published By : Anushka De
Published On: 10 March 2026 at 08:53 IST