North Korea Warns of Serious Consequences as Kamala Harris Condemns Tyrant Kim Jong Un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang. North Korea called the ongoing military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea "large-scale provocative joint military exercises," and said it views them as "a prelude to a nuclear war." © Korean Central News Agency via AP

North Korea has warned the United States of “serious consequences” after Washington provided South Korea with military hardware including Apache helicopters.

Pyongyang’s warning came after Vice President Kamala Harris branded Kim Jong Un a tyrant at the Democratic National Convention.

In a public statement released on Friday, Pyongyang condemned a series of joint military exercises between the South Korean and US armies, which coincided with the sale of 36 Apache attack helicopters.

The condemnation, which described South Korea as a “subordinate power” and the US as “recklessly provocative,” coincided with Harris’ speech at the Democratic National Convention, in which she called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a “tyrant and dictator.”

In the statement, published by the Press and Information Department of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Affairs News Agency said: “We strongly oppose and reject the arms buildup of the US and its subordinate forces that pose grave danger to the regional security environment and escalate military tensions and warn them seriously of the consequences it will bring.

“Amid the ever-increasing political and military tensions on the Korean peninsula due to the large-scale US-South Korea joint military exercises, the US announced the sale of offensive weapons to South Korea. This is a reckless provocative act that deliberately increases security instability in the region.

"The DPRK will continue to conduct military activities necessary for self-defense to control the military imbalance and instability that may be caused by increasingly reckless military movements and lethal equipment transfers from hostile forces over time."

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for comment on North Korea's statement.

The statement came just hours after Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage at the Democratic National Convention, where she said: "I will never hesitate to take any action necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. And I will not associate with tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-Un, who supports Trump."

The joint U.S.-South Korea exercise, dubbed "Ulchi Freedom Shield," will involve more than 40 types of field exercises, as well as drills intended to simulate missile strikes, GPS jamming, and cyberattacks.

The alliance’s bilateral drills will also “further strengthen its capability and posture to deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction,” a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters.

Such joint exercises have taken place regularly in the past. This year, the “war games” will simulate how soldiers and civilians might react to a nuclear attack from North Korea.

The drills also coincide with the U.S. sale of 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to South Korea, further strengthening the American ally’s military capabilities. The U.S. Air Force has also used an RC-135W Rivet Joint spy plane to monitor North Korea’s reaction to the drills.

SOURCE: msn.com