North Korean state media called South Korea a “puppet” over its participation in a U.S.-led maritime exercise, warning that Seoul and Washington would bear responsibility for any “unpredictable escalation” in the region.

The criticism followed last week’s Rim of the Pacific Exercise, or RIMPAC, in Hawaii, where the South Korean navy led maritime forces for the first time.

RIMPAC is billed as the world’s largest international maritime exercise and is held every two years, with around 30 countries, including Japan, Canada and Australia, taking part this year.

KCNA said South Korean forces had joined as a main component at a time when “military collusion is becoming increasingly overt,” pointing to closer South Korea-Japan military cooperation and Seoul’s strengthening relationship with NATO.

The North Korean outlet said the exercise was not a routine drill against a hypothetical adversary, but a U.S. and allied “war demonstration” targeting countries in the Indo-Pacific.

It also criticised a Washington-Seoul Marine Corps exercise, saying the joint air drill simulated “deep infiltration into enemy rear areas” from the U.S. Navy’s USS Essex.

Read more:

• North Korea calls for U.S. allies to denuclearise first, slams NATO summit
• North Korea warns U.S. and Japan over joint military drills
• North Korea to build two large warships a year, Kim Jong Un says

The remarks come as North Korea continues to highlight naval modernisation. Earlier this month, KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un observed the launch of a strategic cruise missile and tests of weapons systems aboard the new 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Kon.

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North Korea South Korea United States military exercise