North Korea slammed military drills between South Korea, Japan, and the US, threatening to respond by exercising its right to self-defense "more intensively."

North Korea on Friday slammed the US and South Korean joint air drills over the Korean peninsula. “North Korea will resolutely deter any attempt at military provocation by the hostile forces and firmly defend the security interests of the state,” said a Foreign Ministry statement.

Hundreds of North Korean troops have been killed fighting against Ukraine over the last few months, according to South Korea ’s intelligence agency. The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea said 300 of Pyongyang’s troops have been killed and another 2,700 wounded since joining Vladimir Putin’s forces last year.

The JCS said the South Korean military has heightened surveillance for additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture to share info with the U.S. and Japan.

A South Korean lawmaker said Seoul's intelligence showed some 3,000 North Korean troops have been wounded or killed in Kursk.

South Korea’s military says North Korea has test-fired multiple missiles toward its eastern waters in its second launch event of 2025.

Eight days after Pyongyang launched a hypersonic ballistic missile, it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the sea.

South Korea and NATO on Wednesday urged North Korea and Russia to halt their military cooperation. The demand came after Seoul claimed at least 300 North Korean soldiers died while fighting Ukraine on behalf of Russia.

Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

North Korea condemned on Friday joint military drills between South Korea, Japan and the United States held this week, threatening to respond by exercising its right to self-defence "more intensively".

North Korea last fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile that flew more than 680 miles from the Pyongyang area before splashing down in the Sea of Japan on Jan. 6.