North Korea warns of stronger response to US-led drills

She said the current situation highlighted the need for North Korea to take responsive measures "proportional ⁠or more offensive in its ‌nature" ​and warned that the country's armed forces would "mobilise all means available" ​if its ‌security or national interests were violated.

The statement was Kim's second ​in two days.

On Thursday, she rejected renewed calls for North Korea's denuclearisation at an International Atomic Energy ​Agency ​conference and reiterated Pyongyang's ​position that its status as a ‌nuclear weapons state is irreversible.

Pacific Vanguard 2026, a multilateral exercise led by the US Navy and involving the navies of South Korea, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan in ​the vicinity of Guam, ran from August 29 to September ​10, according to ⁠Japan's Maritime Self-Defence Force.