North Korea's newly appointed Defence Minister Kim Song-gi has condemned the ongoing "Freedom Edge" trilateral military exercise between the United States, South Korea and Japan, warning Pyongyang will take "strong and reflective countermeasures" if it deems itself provoked. Kim, who took office on 29 August, issued the statement through state media outlet Korean Central News Agency, calling the five-day drill a threat that pushes instability on the Korean Peninsula "to the limit." The warning is significant as it marks Kim's first public statement since assuming the role and comes even as some US-South Korea exercises were recently scaled back on President Donald Trump's orders, signalling that the trilateral format with Japan remains a particular irritant for Pyongyang.