N Korea vows ‘resolute’ response to mly exercises

Seoul: The North Korean military said its response to US-South Korean war drills would be “resolute and overwhelming”, state media reported on Monday.

The warning came after a spate of North Korean weapons tests last week -- including an intercontinental ballistic missile -- as the United States and South Korea conducted their biggest-ever air force exercise.

The United States and South Korea have warned that such missile launches could culminate in a nuclear test by North Korea. The North Korean military, formally known as the Korean People´s Army (KPA), said it was responding to Vigilant Storm -- the US-South Korean exercise -- describing it as “an open provocation”, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Vigilant Storm was “aimed at intentionally escalating the tension in the region and a dangerous war drill of very high aggressive nature directly targeting” North Korea, the KPA said. North Korea will respond to all “anti-DPRK war drills” with “sustained, resolute and overwhelming” measures, it said.