SEOUL: North Korea denounced Friday an ongoing U.S.-led multinational military exercise taking place in Hawaii, calling it a “war rehearsal” that will trigger a “chain of countermeasures” from countries in the region. The North’s state media carried the criticism in an op-ed on the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), in which South Korea is leading the combined maritime component command this year as the first Asian country to do so, Yonhap news agency reported. “RIMPAC is not merely a routine exercise targeting a hypothetical adversary, but a blatant war rehearsal spearheaded by the US and its followers to target regional states deemed primary obstacles to realising its Asia-Pacific strategy,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. (IANS)
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