North Korea has said U.S. President Donald Trump is "begging for nuclear war," labeling Washington a "nuclear demon" for the staging of a massive joint aerial military drill with South Korea scheduled to kick off Monday.
The five-day Vigilant Ace exercise was to involve 12,000 U.S. personnel and more than 230 aircraft from both countries, including U.S. stealth fighter jets from Japan, B-1B strategic bombers from Guam and advanced South Korean aircraft. The two countries will stage simulated precision airstrikes on mock North Korean nuclear and missile targets.
Late Saturday, a spokesman from the North's Foreign Ministry blasted the "unprecedented" exercise for "simulating actual combat" scenarios, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.