North's Kim Jong-un calls Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises 'hostile and confrontational'
Published: 19 Aug. 2025, 17:43
Updated: 19 Aug. 2025, 20:16
![This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 19, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer the previous day. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/19/567ab362-62e5-4b68-a1e2-296033462c03.jpg)
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 19, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer the previous day. [YONHAP]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un boarded the regime's new destroyer, the Choe Hyon, on Monday — the first day of the South Korea-U.S. Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) combined exercises and condemned the joint drills as the two nations “openly revealing their intention to remain most hostile and confrontational” against the North.
Kim’s comments, as reported by the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, came just three days after President Lee Jae Myung said in his Liberation Day address that he would “respect the North Korean regime.” Kim’s remarks reaffirm that Pyongyang’s antagonistic stance toward Seoul and Washington remains unchanged.
According to the outlet, Kim inspected the 5,000-ton multipurpose destroyer and reviewed its integrated weapons systems and the training of naval troops.
Kim said that “the security environment around the DPRK is getting more serious day by day and the prevailing situation requires us to make a radical and swift change in the existing military theory and practice and rapid expansion of nuclearization,” using the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea'sfull name.
He added that the deepening military coordination and shows of force by South Korea and the United States represented “the most obvious manifestation of their will to ignite a war and the source of destroying the peace and security environment in the region.”
Lee, in his Friday address, stated that the South “respects the North’s regime, will not pursue unification by absorption in any form and has no intention to engage in any hostile acts.” The North has issued no official response, rendering Kim's Monday remarks a rejection of Lee's olive branch.
![This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 19, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer the previous day. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/19/690b2f6f-b6c6-41b0-b697-be422d86d23a.jpg)
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 19, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer the previous day. [YONHAP]
Kim criticized the joint drills' alleged inclusion of a “nuclear element,” claiming they have become increasingly provocative. He insisted that the evolving security landscape demands “counteraction with proactive and overwhelming changes.” This echoed North Korea’s longstanding narrative of blaming the South and the United States for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Although Kim referred to “nuclear elements” in the drills, this year’s UFS is based on conventional warfare scenarios. In fact, even Seoul’s parallel Ulchi exercises are not applying a North Korean nuclear attack scenario. South Korean defense officials have also emphasized that the exercises are “routine and defensive in nature.”
Despite such context, Pyongyang continues to cite “nuclear elements” as justification for expanding its own nuclear arsenal. Analysts say this serves both to rationalize provocations and to deter the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula during the exercises.
“Regardless of how much Seoul and Washington stress the defensive nature of the drills, Pyongyang chooses to interpret all allied exercises, large or small, as nuclear-related,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University. “That gives them a rationale to escalate their nuclear and strategic capabilities.”
![This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 19, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer the previous day. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/19/0e3bc0aa-eb7d-4e02-b4d3-1c19b5087e48.jpg)
This photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 19, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the 5,000-ton Choe Hyon destroyer the previous day. [YONHAP]
Lim added that an additional provocation, such as a submarine-launched ballistic missile test, could be imminent.
KCNA also reported that Kim expressed satisfaction, saying “the major tasks for making the navy high-tech and nuclear-armed” were “progressing on a stage-by-stage basis as planned.” The outlet said that in October, the vessel will undergo operational performance evaluations, hinting that deployment could be near.
Kim also confirmed that a third ship of the Choe Hyon's scale is under construction at the Nampo Shipyard. He declared that the North Korean Navy will “become a reliable force firmly performing a part in the composition of the state nuclear forces and the realm of nuclear use in the near future.”
Typically, navies aim to operate at least three ships in a class — for operations, maintenance, and reserve purposes. Kim’s remarks signal Pyongyang’s intent to rapidly secure such a capability. His emphasis on both surface and underwater assets, including a nuclear submarine under construction, suggests the regime is making steady progress toward diversifying its maritime nuclear platforms.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects the integrated weapons systems aboard the Choe Hyon-ho destroyer and observes the training and daily routines of naval troops, the Rodong Sinmun reports on Aug. 19. [RODONG SINMUN]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/19/891fe4c8-7c8d-4cd8-931e-be8b4b4f4ac8.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects the integrated weapons systems aboard the Choe Hyon-ho destroyer and observes the training and daily routines of naval troops, the Rodong Sinmun reports on Aug. 19. [RODONG SINMUN]
North Korea launched the Choe Hyon on April 25 and conducted live-fire drills with its weapons systems just three days later. Its integration and operational testing of radar, sonar and onboard armaments just four months later suggests an unusually rapid pace — likely timed to coincide with the ruling Workers’ Party’s 80th anniversary in October and the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party at year’s end.
Still, the regime has not conducted a major provocation, such as a ballistic missile launch, in response to the latest drills. Experts say this could reflect a deliberate effort to modulate its response.
“By opting for a field inspection rather than a missile launch, Kim is signaling a low-key response,” said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. “But by showcasing the navy’s nuclear capabilities, he is still sending a warning to Seoul and Washington.”
In response to the North’s reaction, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung emphasized that the Ulchi exercise is defensive in nature and dismissed the remarks as “repetitive responses” not worth particular attention. The Unification Ministry also reiterated earlier that the South Korea-U.S. joint drills “are not intended to attack the North or escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back presided over a national defense strategy meeting Monday at the B-1 bunker of the Capital Defense Command. Addressing military commanders, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Ahn emphasized the need for readiness “to achieve victory in the shortest time and with minimal sacrifice.”
“Combat readiness cannot be developed through words or writing — it is the military’s destiny to cultivate real-world readiness through exercises,” said Ahn, urging the commanders to ensure the armed forces are prepared to “move immediately into action.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG, CHUNG YEONG-GYO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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