NORTH KOREA may conduct “strategic and tactical provocations” when Seoul holds joint military exercises later with the United States later this month, the South Korean defence ministry said.

Lee Jong Sup made the claim following an all-commander meeting on Wednesday, citing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s speech last month in which he “strongly criticised” the drills. 

 “Considering how North Korea has wrapped up preparations for a seventh nuclear test, we have assessed that North Korea may conduct strategic and tactical provocations,” Mr Lee said. 

Washington and Seoul have ramped up joint military exercises that critics say has destabilised the Korean Peninsula as the US continues its hostile approach towards North Korea. 

The two nations carried out their first joint exercises since Noon Suk Yeol assumed the South Korean presidency in May. 

The operations — named Ulchi Freedom Shield — saw warships patrol Korean waters, ignoring warnings from Pyongyang over the increased military aggression. 

Later this month, UFS will see the first joint field-training exercises between South Korea and the US since 2018 when such operations were downscaled. 

It will involve 11 different types of training, including wartime scenarios such as repelling a hypothetical North Korean attack and counterstrikes, the defence ministry said. 

Earlier this year, China and Russia vetoed tougher US-led sanctions on North Korea which would have placed further restrictions on the amount of oil Pyongyang could legally import.

The motion was defeated at the UN security council, leading to the first public spat since the body started placing sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006. 

North Korea insists that it has the right to boost its military capabilities, including its arsenal of missiles, in light of increased US hostilities.