Pyongyang [North Korea], November 2: The KCNA news agency today quoted a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry as accusing the US and South Korea of staging "various war plots more than 20 times" this year, leaving Pyongyang with no choice but to completely prevent the risk of a nuclear war.
"The DPRK will continue to step up practical efforts to deter military threats from hostile forces and maintain the balance of forces in the region," the spokesman stressed.
In a separate statement, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, condemned recent criticism from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres over Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on October 31, stressing that the launch was for "self-defense," according to Reuters.
On the morning of October 31, North Korea demonstrated its military might by testing a massive new solid-fuel ICBM called the Hwasong-19.
On November 1, the South Korean and US air forces conducted their first joint live-fire strike exercise involving Global Hawk and Reaper drones, dropping Global Positioning System (GPS)-guided munitions in simulated attacks on enemy targets, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the South Korean Air Force.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper