Kim Jong-sik Blasts Iron Mace Drill, Pledges Atomic Expansion

Seoul, November 2: North Korea has stepped up its rhetoric against the military cooperation between South Korea and the United States, declaring that it will expand its nuclear strength to deal with growing threats.

Pyongyang charges that the joint exercises held by the two allies are part of an operation to prepare for nuclear war against the North. Its position is that enlarging nuclear power is a steady feature of its national defense policy, and it intends to keep doing so.

In a statement distributed on Monday by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim Jong-sik, first deputy director of a department under the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, took aim at the 'Iron Mace' exercise. He called it a deeply dangerous war game that rehearses the use of nuclear weapons against North Korea.

According to Kim, the drill shows how Washington's nuclear capabilities and Seoul's conventional military strength are being brought together in a strategy that is advancing in a troubling direction.

The two countries conducted the tabletop exercise from September 29 to October 2 at the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul. Officials said its aim was to strengthen the combined response of South Korea and the United States, along with their nuclear deterrence strategy, against possible dangers from North Korea.

North Korea's criticism covered more than Iron Mace. It also targeted the Hoguk and Freedom Flag drills of the two allies and objected to 'Keen Sword', the exercise staged by the United States and Japan.

Kim maintained that rival nations were increasing their military activity openly and secretly. He argued that North Korea would have to develop a more formidable nuclear capability to keep those opponents under control.

He said the country's nuclear deterrence system would defend its sovereignty and security and also help preserve stability across the region. Kim described the swift strengthening of nuclear deterrence to counter present and possible threats as a firm part of the North's defense policy.

North Korea has long claimed that the joint drills between Seoul and Washington are preparations for aggression against it. South Korea and the United States, by contrast, insist that the exercises are defensive and intended to counter threats linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile arsenals.