SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said South Korea is a foreign and hostile nation, state news agency KCNA reported Friday, with photos showing Kim conferring with high-ranking soldiers and poring over a map labeled “Seoul” at a command post. The reclusive state blasted road and rail links with South Korea this week. “This ‘two hostile countries’ rhetoric is, in the end, Kim Jong Un’s survival strategy ... Don’t interfere, live separately as a hostile country. On Friday, the top military commanders of South Korea and the United States held an annual Military Committee Meeting and expressed concern over security challenges stemming from North Korea’s threats. On Sunday, South Korea will begin annual large-scale military exercises called Hoguk to improve operational performance.

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Persons: Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Kim, ” Kim, “, ” KCNA, ”, Yang Moo, Kim Jong Organizations: Seoul, 2nd Corps, North Korean, University of North Korean Studies, North, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Democratic People’s Locations: SEOUL, South Korea, North, North Korea, Seoul, colluding, Washington, U.S, Pyongyang, United States, Russia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea