North Korea Increases Cooperation With Russia In Facing The United States

JAKARTA - North Korea plans to increase cooperation with Russia against the United States, Pyongyang's ambassador to Russia said, adding that peace on the Korean Peninsula could only be achieved after US troops were withdrawn.

Ambassador Sin Hong-chol's comments came after senior North Korean leaders warned this week that South Korea and the United States would face repercussions for their decision to resume annual joint military exercises.

The exercise is a rehearsal for war and proves that the United States is responsible for the instability of the situation, he told Russian news agency TASS in an interview published Wednesday.

"We will also increase cooperation between North Korea and Russia with the aim of countering the United States, a common threat", Sin explained.

Some 28.500 United States troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, leaving the Korean Peninsula in a state of technical war when the fighting ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Denying Pyongyang's accusations, Washington and Seoul say the joint exercises they hold are defensive in nature.

Earlier, in a statement released by state media Wednesday, senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol condemned South Korea for continuing military exercises with the United States. Warns of countermeasures that will make Seoul aware have entered a security crisis.

A day earlier, Kim Yo-jong, the strong sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said the drills were the clearest expression of the US hostile policy towards North Korea, stressing North Korea would work faster to strengthen its pre-emptive strike capabilities.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government in a statement asked North Korea to respond to the offer of dialogue, saying increasing military tensions on the Korean peninsula will not benefit anyone.