The Latest: North Korea seeks UN discussion of joint drills
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The latest on North Korea's request to have a U.N. Security Council discussion of U.S. and South Korean military exercises (all times local):
7:25 p.m.
North Korea wants to take its complaints about U.S. and South Korean military exercises to the U.N. Security Council, saying the annual maneuvers are recklessly provocative at a time when it says "tensions are "like a time bomb." The message comes as the North continues launching missiles.
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It's not clear whether the discussion North Korea requested will happen, or whether other countries might request a meeting in light of Pyongyang's missile launches Saturday and Monday.
A letter from U.N. Ambassador Ja Song Nam of North Korea asks Egypt as Security Council president to schedule a discussion urgently. The letter was dated Friday and released Monday.
The ambassador writes that the military exercises are "provocative and aggressive." A U.S. State Department spokeswoman says their only purpose is to improve readiness to defend South Korea.
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5:30 p.m.
North Korea wants to take its complaints about U.S. and South Korean military exercises to the U.N. Security Council, saying the annual maneuvers are recklessly provocative at a time of tension.
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The letter, dated Friday, asks Egypt as Security Council president to schedule a discussion urgently.
The Egyptian, U.S. and South Korean missions didn't have any immediate comment Monday.
Pyongyang regularly argues that the U.S.-South Korean military exercises are an invasion rehearsal. This year, they come after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump traded warlike threats.
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North Korea's U.N. ambassador, Ja Song Nam, writes that the exercises are "provocative and aggressive" when the Korean peninsula is "like a time bomb."
Amid the exercises, North Korea fired several rockets into the sea Saturday.