North Korea on Friday threatened to exercise its right to self-defense in a statement that slammed the upcoming U.S.-South Korean military drills as a war rehearsal that would be more provocative than last year.
The U.S. and South Korean militaries are to start their annual large-scale drills Monday and have described the scope of this year's training as similar to past years. The allies have said the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises are meant to strengthen their readiness against North Korean threats and reiterated that they are defensive in nature.
