Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un slammed the US, Japan and South Korea for conducting war games in the waters around the Korean Peninsula. During the speech celebrating the formation of Pyongyang’s Navy, Kim said Washington’s actions had become more “frantic” and could cause a nuclear war. 

“The US imperialists are getting more frantic than ever before in the joint naval military exercises with their vassal forces in the waters around [North Korea],” he declared during Tuesday’s address. “While putting the deployment of reinforced nuclear strategic assets in the waters around the Korean Peninsula on a permanent basis.”

Kim directed his ire at a recent trilateral agreement between Tokyo, Seoul and Washington. President Joe Biden hosted his South Korean and Japanese counterparts at Camp David and inked a deal to conduct additional military drills. 

Referring to the military pact, Kim said, “The gang bosses of the US, Japan and the “Republic of Korea” were closeted with each other, where they announced that they would conduct on a regular basis the tripartite joint military exercises under different codenames, and set about its implementation.”

He added that the increased military activity in the region risked provoking a nuclear war. “Owing to the reckless confrontational moves of the US and other hostile forces, the waters off the Korean Peninsula have been reduced into the world’s biggest war hardware concentration spot, the most unstable waters with the danger of a nuclear war,” he remarked.

Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have spiraled during the Joe Biden presidency. Since taking office, Biden has refused to speak with the North Koreans on terms acceptable to Pyongyang. Further, the White House has worked to increase military ties between Japan and South Korea. Additionally, Washington has deployed several nuclear assets to the Korean Peninsula.