Kim Jong-sik, first vice director of the Workers' Party's Munitions Industry Department, described the Iron Mace exercise as "the most hideous nuclear war rehearsal aimed at using nuclear weapons against the DPRK," according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is North Korea's official name.
Kim accused Washington of maintaining its ambition to attack North Korea with nuclear weapons, arguing that the exercise demonstrated the need for Pyongyang to strengthen its nuclear arsenal.
"It means that we must bind and control the wicked enemies with more powerful nuclear means," Kim said, referring to recent allied military exercises.
He also criticized South Korea's annual Hoguk field exercise, the ROK-U.S. Freedom Flag air drills and the U.S.-Japan Keen Sword exercise, describing them as evidence of growing military threats.
"The reality teaches once again the underlying truth that strength is peace and peace is guaranteed only by strength," Kim said.
The ROK and the United States conducted Iron Mace from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 at the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters in Seoul. The tabletop exercise focused on integrating U.S. nuclear capabilities with South Korea's conventional forces to deter North Korean nuclear threats.
First launched in August 2024, Iron Mace is conducted under the Nuclear Consultative Group framework established following the April 2023 Washington Declaration.
The latest exercise was held without a public announcement under President Lee Jae Myung's administration, which has sought to avoid provoking Pyongyang.
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