Just days ahead of the U.S. presidential election, North Korea accused Seoul of having “no backbone or self-esteem” and published several articles condemning the U.S.-ROK alliance.

Over the weekend, North Korea’s state-run periodical, the Tongil Sinbo, criticized South Korea for how it handled defense cost-sharing issues with the United States and the upcoming wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer. 

OPCON aims to create a new Combined Command between the two countries that will be led by a South Korean military official instead of an American one. But the initiative sparked controversy last month when the two countries disagreed on the