North Korea has threatened to strengthen its preemptive strike capabilities in response to recent U.S.-ROK joint military exercises, recycling language and criticisms that the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister made in an earlier statement.

The DPRK foreign ministry released a statement on Saturday describing the nine-day drills, which concluded on Aug. 26, as “the most vivid expression of the U.S. hostile policy against the DPRK” that aims to stifle its state “by means of force.”

“Through the U.S.-south Korea aggressive war drill this time, we could feel keenly once again the need to continue bolstering the national