On the 4th, the ROK Navy's Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarine Ahn Muham departs from Jinhae Naval Port to participate in the 2025 Silent Shark training. 2025.11.17 [Provided by the Navy. 

North Korea threatened countries in the region, stating that if they continue military displays that threaten the strategic balance of the region, they too will resort to "exercising essential rights."

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated this on the 28th in a commentary titled "Reckless U.S. Military Movements Projecting the Origin of Regional Instability," saying, "The reckless U.S. military movements that are severely threatening the strategic stability of the Korean Peninsula and surrounding areas, which began at the start of the new year, have become even more overt as the year draws to a close."

The agency criticized, "Despite the repeated concerns of the international community, the U.S.'s habitually committed military blunders clearly project where the origin of regional instability lies and who is the actor of the 'unilateral change of status quo' they advocate."

The commentary on this day listed and took issue with various U.S.-led military movements, which were also interpreted as being mindful of China, not just North Korea.

It cited the ROK-U.S. maritime anti-special operations training involving guided-missile destroyers, anti-submarine helicopters, and maritime patrol aircraft, as well as the U.S. redeploying F-16 fighter jets, which were previously deployed to the Kunsan and Misawa Air Bases in Japan, to Osan Air Base.

It also criticized the ROK-U.S. joint anti-submarine warfare training, Silent Shark, held near Guam this month, and the U.S. Marines establishing a military base on Yonaguni Island, Japan, near the Taiwan Strait.

The agency claimed, "The fact that the U.S. is the originator that threatens peace and stability and destroys the strategic security balance has already been preserved as an absolute value in the awareness of the region's sovereign nations."

It further reminded that they must be prepared for "any development of events," stating, "We have made it clear that all threats approaching our security sphere will be placed within our targeting range and managed in the necessary manner."

It added, "As the U.S. continues to break records in its displays of military force threatening countries in the region, we will also be all the more dedicated to defending our national sovereignty and interests through the exercise of essential rights and to promoting the preservation of peace and stability in the region."

The "regional countries" and "sovereign nations of the region" mentioned by North Korea appear to refer to North Korea and China together. China is also the target that the U.S. has accused of attempting a 'unilateral change of status quo' in regions such as the Taiwan Strait.

In this regard, the commentary on this day is interpreted as an attempt to highlight that North Korea and China are linked together as targets of ROK-U.S. military movements, bearing in mind similar situations in the region and sharing security interests.

Yonhap News