North Korea said on Thursday it was prepared to counter US military action with a “more overwhelming nuclear force”, warning of an escalation in tensions over military exercises in Washington and Seoul.
The statement from the Pyongyang State Department came in response to comments made by the US Secretary of Defense, who was visiting Seoul.
On Tuesday, Lloyd Austin said Washington would increase shipments of military equipment to the Korean peninsula, including fighter jets and aircraft carriers, as joint training with South Korea increases.
Nervousness about South Korean security has increased since neighboring North Korea tested dozens of missiles in 2022, possibly including nuclear missiles designed to hit targets in South Korea and the United States.
An unnamed spokesman for the North Korean foreign ministry, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, said: the expansion of Allied exercises threatens to turn the Korean peninsula into “a vast war arsenal and a more critical war zone”.
The statement stressed that Pyongyang was ready to meet any short- or long-term military challenge from allies with the “most overwhelming nuclear force”.
“The military and political situation in the Korean Peninsula and region has reached an extreme red line as a result of reckless military deployment maneuvers and hostile actions by the US and proxies.said the spokesperson.
South Korea and the United States conducted joint air exercises on Wednesday, with the participation of a B-1B strategic bomber and F-22 and F-35B stealth fighters from the US Air Force, the Defense Department said today.
“The joint air exercises demonstrate the willingness and ability of the US to provide a broad, strong and credible deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” South Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement.
The exercises, the first between Seoul and Washington in 2023, took place in the Yellow Sea (called the West Sea in the two Koreas), to “promote the joint operational capabilities” of the two countries, including South Korean F-35A hunters involved. .
Source: DN
