North Korea warns of 'catastrophe' from South Korea-US military drill

North Korea warned Sunday of a "catastrophe" if South Korea and the United States push ahead with their annual military drill next month, Yonhap news agency reported. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) is one of the two joint military drills South Korea and the United States have been staging annually to test and improve their defense posture against the rival North. Pyongyang, however, has routinely criticized the drills as a rehearsal for a war against the North. This year's edition of the computer simulation exercise is scheduled for mid-August. "The United States again tries to open a large-scale joint military exercise in August," said an article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the North Korean Workers' Party. It warned the Korean Peninsula will fall "into a state of catastrophe" if the UFG gets underway. The newspaper then called for the dismantlement of the United Nations Command (UNC), saying its state members' participation in the annual military drill is a problem. The UNC is the unified command structure for the U.S.-led multinational forces that supported South Korea in its fight against the invading North in the war. The UNC, headed by the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, still exists as the Koreas remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice. About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed here to deter against the North Korean threat. Any disbandment of the UNC will help ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and positively affect building confidence between the U.S. and the North, the newspaper claimed.