(Corrects wording in paragraph 1 to show drills are already taking place; updates starting date of joint drills in paragraph 3)
Sept 7 (Reuters) – North Korea’s newly appointed defence minister, Kim Song-gi, has called joint military drills by South Korea, Japan and the United States a provocation, state media KCNA reported on Monday.
Kim also vowed to take “strong and reflective countermeasures” if the U.S. and its allies sought a new military confrontation in a statement carried by KCNA.
South Korea, the United States and Japan began their annual “Freedom Edge” exercise on Monday in international waters southeast and south of Jeju Island, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The trilateral exercise comes after U.S. President Donald Trump scaled back a major joint exercise with South Korea last month.
(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim in Barcelona; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Jan Harvey)
