North Korea calls South 'puppet' for first time in 15 months over RIMPAC role

North Korea on Friday referred to South Korea as "puppets" in connection with the 2026 Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC), saying the "South Korean puppet forces participated as the main contingent" in the drill, which it described as the largest ever with 30 countries taking part. It was the first time North Korean state media had used the "puppet Korea" or "Korean puppets" label against the current South Korean government and military since an incident in April last year involving the separation of a gun and fuel tank from a South Korean Air Force fighter jet — a gap of about 15 months.

KCNA carried a commentary Friday headlined "RIMPAC — a war rehearsal stirring waves of escalating tension in the Pacific," warning that "the reckless provocations of international hooligans are bound to trigger a chain of proportional countermeasures by regional countries to firmly deter and manage them."

The agency said "the landlords can never stand by with folded arms as the world's most tyrannical ruffian leads his regional lackeys and uninvited guests from across the ocean in staging large-scale acts of fire-playing right at the doorstep." It added that "no one can block the independent right of the relevant countries to strengthen their war deterrence in order to defend national sovereignty, security interests, and regional peace and stability."

On the recent strengthening of South Korea-Japan military cooperation, KCNA described it as "an act of fire-playing" occurring alongside "the increasingly brazen military collusion between the South Korean puppet warmongers, who are going into an unprecedented frenzy of anti-republic confrontational schemes, and Japan, a war criminal state racing down the path of military buildup," as well as growing military coordination between South Korea, Japan and NATO.

KCNA also claimed that "preemptive strike elements repeatedly drilled by the United States, South Korea and Japan in aggressive war exercises such as 'Ulchi Freedom Shield' and 'Freedom Edge' were carried out in a consecutive sequence of ground and amphibious training" at RIMPAC, asserting that preemptive strike drills took place during the exercise.

The agency noted that the exercise featured AI technology and highlighted the integrated operation of unmanned and manned weapons systems as a core focus. It said "all these facts point to which forces are truly shaking the foundations of world peace and security, and foreshadow that an unwanted situation may soon arise on the Korean Peninsula and in the region."

The commentary also ran on page six of the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper read by North Korean citizens. South Korea's Navy, which has participated in RIMPAC since 1990, served as Combined Naval Forces Component Commander for the first time this year, overseeing in-exercise operations of the multinational naval force.