North Korea issued a warning as the US government and South Korea agreed to strengthen military ties.
Published November 8, 2025
North Korean Defense Minister Noh Kwang-chol condemned the US aircraft carrier’s entry into South Korea and warned that North Korea would take “further aggressive actions” against its enemy.
The minister’s warning came a day after North Korea fired what appeared to be a short-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast.
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“Based on the principles of ensuring security and protecting peace with great force, we will demonstrate even more aggressive actions against enemy threats,” North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Saturday.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that the defense minister said that “any threat that intrudes into North Korea’s security domain” will be “directly targeted” and “managed in any necessary manner.”
Friday’s missile launches followed the US government’s announcement of new sanctions targeting eight North Korean nationals and two entities accused of money laundering related to cybercrime, as well as US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s visit to South Korea.
North Korea’s defense minister was commenting on a visit by the US and South Korean defense ministers to the inter-Korean border and subsequent security talks in Seoul, accusing the allies of conspiring to combine nuclear and conventional forces.
Using the initials of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Roh said, “We correctly understand the hostility of the United States in confronting North Korea until the end, and we will never avoid responding to it.”
According to KCNA, the defense minister made the comments on Friday following the annual Korea-US Security Consultative Conference (SCM) and the recent arrival of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and the 5th Aircraft Strike Group at the port of Busan.
The arrival of the U.S. strike group coincides with a large-scale joint military exercise known as Freedom Flag between the U.S. and South Korean militaries.
Hegseth, who was in South Korea this week for SCM talks, posted several photos on social media of his visit to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas.
Hegseth said that while the core of the U.S.-South Korean alliance remains focused on deterring North Korea, the Trump administration will also consider flexible operations for U.S. forces in South Korea to address regional threats.
I visited the Demilitarized Zone with South Korean Minister Ahn and met the brave troops of the United States, South Korea, and United Nations forces maintaining the military truce on the peninsula.
Our military stands ready to support President Trump’s efforts to bring lasting peace through force. pic.twitter.com/Uy6gab0zwl
— Secretary of the Army Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 3, 2025
North Korea said the visit by Hegseth and his South Korean counterpart to the demilitarized zone was “a clear revelation and clear deliberate expression of their hostile nature to counter North Korea.”
North Korea’s latest missile launch, which Japan said landed outside its exclusive economic zone, came just over a week after US President Donald Trump visited the region and expressed interest in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The United States said Friday it was in “close consultation” with allies and partners over the ballistic missile launches.
“While we assess that this incident does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, territory, or allies, this missile launch highlights the destabilizing effects of North Korea’s actions,” the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement.
