Archive · 14 Aug 2026
North Korea Warns New US Nuclear Strategy Sparks Arms Race
North Korea is a country in Asia.
Its leaders are worried about military drills the United States and South Korea are planning.
Military drills are practice exercises for soldiers.
North Korea says those drills are a threat to its safety.
It also does not like a new plan for nuclear weapons from the United States.
Nuclear weapons are the most powerful bombs in the world.
North Korea says this plan could start a race to build more and more bombs.
It fired test missiles into the sea to show it is ready to protect itself.
A leader from Ukraine also warned that North Korea might send soldiers and missiles to help Russia.
Many world leaders are watching carefully to see what happens next.
North Korea condemned planned summertime military drills by the US and South Korea, vowing to exercise its right to self-defense.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the country will respond to "a new level of a threat with a new level of a deterrent."
North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Wednesday, its second missile test in less than a week.
The US and South Korea's combined military exercises run from Aug. 17-27, while US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby says he sees no radical changes in the nuclear strategy under review.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that tens of thousands of additional North Korean soldiers could be deployed to support Russia and asked South Korea for air defense systems.
- Who
- North Korea's Foreign Ministry, the US and South Korea, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby.
- What
- North Korea condemned planned US-South Korea military drills and the US nuclear strategy under review, vowing to respond with a new level of deterrent.
- When
- North Korea's statement was carried Friday; its ballistic missile was fired Wednesday, six days after a short-range missile launch; US-South Korea drills are scheduled Aug. 17-27.
- Where
- North Korea, where the missile was fired off its east coast, plus the US and South Korea.
- Why
- North Korea says the drills and the new US nuclear doctrine threaten its security and could escalate a nuclear arms race.
North Korea
United States and South Korea
US nuclear strategy review
North Korea
North Korea says the new US nuclear doctrine destroys the nuclear balance in the world, escalates a nuclear arms race, and pushes the global security environment to the threshold of nuclear war.
United States and South Korea
US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby says he does not see radical changes in the nuclear strategy under review.
Combined military drills
North Korea
North Korea says the US-South Korea exercises create a grave confrontational situation that it will not tolerate, and it vows to exercise its right to self-defense.
United States and South Korea
The US and South Korea are proceeding with the planned drills from Aug. 17-27, incorporating new lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine.
- Missile test
- Ballistic missile fired off North Korea's east coast on Wednesday
- Missile tests timeline
- Second test in less than a week; short-range ballistic missile launched six days earlier
- US-South Korea military drills
- Aug. 17-27, incorporating lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine
- North Korea's official name
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
- Statement outlet
- Korean Central News Agency (KCNA)
- US nuclear strategy review
- Under review; Undersecretary Elbridge Colby says he sees no radical changes
- Zelenskyy warning
- Tens of thousands of additional North Korean troops could deploy to support Russia; he asked South Korea for air defense systems