N Korea warns of ‘serious security crisis’ over US-S Korea drills

Pyongyang says Seoul is risking a security crisis by choosing to go ahead with joint military drills with the US.

North Korea has threatened to respond to US-South Korean military exercises it claims are an invasion rehearsal, saying Seoul was risking a “serious security crisis” after missing its opportunity to improve inter-Korean ties. The statement from senior politician Kim Yong Chol came on Wednesday, a day after the United States and South Korean militaries began their preliminary training in the run-up to next week’s annual exercises. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has also demanded Washington withdraw its forces from the peninsula. Kim Yong Chol said South Korea must be made to “clearly understand how dearly they have to pay” for choosing their alliance with Washington over peace between the Koreas.