North Korea decried a scaled-back military drill between the U.S. and South Korea Thursday, calling it a “violent violation.”
The condemnation was issued through North Korea’s state-run media service just a week after President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to reach an agreement over the latter’s nuclear program.
Following the collapse of the summit, the U.S. announced it would cancel two large-scale military drills, a move largely seen as an olive branch to North Korea. The U.S. instead scheduled a training drill called “Dong Maeng,” meaning “alliance,” which began Monday and is expected to run through March 12.
But despite the cancellation of the much larger military drills, North Korea is still unhappy with U.S.-South Korean coordination.
“It is a violent violation of the joint declarations and statements that North Korea reached with the U.S. and South Korea,” North Korean media said Thursday.” This also represents a frontal challenge to the aim and desires of all [Korean] people and the international community for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
Thursday’s condemnation by the dictatorship follows reports that North Korea is rebuilding part of a missile testing facility. Aerial imagery has shown activity at the Sohae Tongchang-ri satellite launch facility, which has been used in the past to test long-range missile engines.
[Also read: Trump: US, North Korea at war without me in the White House]
