SEOUL: South Korea and the United States kicked off their largest joint military exercises in five years on Monday, after nuclear-armed Pyongyang warned such drills could be seen as a 鈥渄eclaration of war.鈥�
Washington and Seoul have ramped up defense cooperation in the face of growing threats from the North, which has conducted a series of banned weapons tests in recent months.
The US-South Korea exercises, called Freedom Shield, are scheduled to run for at least 10 days from Monday and will focus on the 鈥渃hanging security environment鈥� due to North Korea鈥檚 redoubled aggression, the allies said.
In a rare move, the Seoul military this month revealed that it and Washington special forces were staging 鈥淭eak Knife鈥� military exercises 鈥� which involve simulating precision strikes on key facilities in North Korea 鈥� ahead of Freedom Shield.
All such exercises infuriate North Korea, which views them as rehearsals for an invasion.
It has said its nuclear weapons and missile programs are for self-defense.
Over the weekend, North Korea fired two 鈥渟trategic cruise missiles鈥� from a submarine in waters off its east coast, the official KCNA news agency reported Monday.
The agency cited the country鈥檚 鈥渋nvariable stand鈥� to confront a situation in which 鈥渢he US imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces are getting ever more undisguised in their anti-DPRK military maneuvers.鈥�
鈥淧yongyang has military capabilities under development it wants to test anyway and likes to use Washington and Seoul鈥檚 cooperation as an excuse,鈥� said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
DPRK is the initialism for North Korea鈥檚 official name, the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea.
In a separate statement, North Korea鈥檚 foreign ministry said the United States was 鈥渟cheming鈥� to call a UN Security Council meeting on human rights in the reclusive communist state, to coincide with the joint maneuvers.
鈥淭he DPRK bitterly denounces the US vicious 鈥榟uman rights鈥� racket as the most intensive expression of its hostile policy toward the DPRK and categorically rejects it,鈥� the ministry said, according to KCNA.
Last year, the North declared itself an 鈥渋rreversible鈥� nuclear power and fired a record-breaking number of missiles, with leader Kim Jong Un last week ordering his military to intensify drills to prepare for a 鈥渞eal war.鈥�

Washington has repeatedly restated its 鈥渋ronclad鈥� commitment to defending South Korea, including using the 鈥渇ull range of its military capabilities, including nuclear.鈥�
South Korea, for its part, is eager to reassure its increasingly nervous public about the US commitment to so-called extended deterrence, in which US military assets, including nuclear weapons, serve to prevent attacks on allies.
Although the official policy of both countries toward the North 鈥� that Kim must give up his nukes and return to the table for talks 鈥� has not changed, experts said there had been a practical shift.
Washington has 鈥渆ffectively acknowledged that North Korea will never give up its nuclear program,鈥� An Chan-il, a defector turned researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, told AFP.
This Freedom Shield training is the first since that happened, meaning it 鈥渨ill be very different 鈥� both qualitatively and quantitatively 鈥� from previous joint exercises that took place in recent years,鈥� he added.
North Korea, which recently called for an 鈥渆xponential鈥� increase in weapons production, including tactical nukes, had been widely expected to respond with missile launches and drills of its own 鈥� with experts saying more were likely over the course of the US-South Korean exercises.
鈥淣orth Korea will use the Freedom Shield 2023 Exercise to unify its people and as an excuse to further invest in weapons of mass destruction,鈥� said Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean army general.
鈥淢ore missile launches with variations in style and scope should be expected with even a nuclear test. More acts of intimidation from North Korea should not come as a surprise.鈥�
But Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification said Pyongyang was not expected to 鈥渃ross the red line.鈥�
The North is likely to refrain from activities 鈥渁t which the US and South Korea are forced to counter strike in response,鈥� he said.