Pyongyang lashes out over South drills

SEOUL: North Korea hit out at South Korea over recent military drills, while leader Kim Jong-un sent a personal message to China’s Xi Jinping to congratulate him on that country’s success in controlling the coronavirus, state media reported yesterday.

A North Korean military representative said yesterday that recent South Korean military drills were a grave provocation that demanded a reaction, according to a statement carried by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“The recent drill served as an opportunity which awakened us once again to the obvious fact that the enemies remain enemies all the time,” the statement said.

North Korea cited a military exercise by the Republic of Korea Air Force Air Combat Command on Wednesday, and said the drills violated inter-Korean agreements aimed at reducing military tensions.

“Everything is now going back to the starting point before the north-south summit meeting in 2018,” the statement said.

On Sunday, South Korea said North Korean troops fired multiple shots toward a South Korean guard post at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates the two countries.

South Korean troops responded by firing warning shots, but no casualties were reported.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said the shots fired by North Korea were likely “accidental”.

In a separate dispatch, KCNA said Mr Kim sent a verbal message to the Chinese president about the coronavirus.

“Kim Jong-un in his message extended his warm greetings to Xi Jinping and congratulated him, highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic,” said KCNA.

Mr Kim wished Mr Xi good health and the KCNA report said the relations between Pyongyang and Beijing were “firmly consolidated”.