North Korea has decided to take “important practical measures” to deter war, the North Korean state news agency reported Sunday, a day before Seoul and Washington began the largest joint military exercises in five years.
“At the meeting, important practical measures for more effective, robust and offensive use of war deterrence were discussed and approved,” North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said.
The decision was made at a meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party (in power), chaired by leader Kim Jong-un, he added.
The measures are intended to “deal with the current situation” where “the provocations of war by the United States and South Korea are reaching the red line,” KCNA said, without giving details of the measures.
South Korea and the United States will begin the “Shield of Freedom” exercise on Monday, the allies said, targeting the “changing security environment” due to North Korea’s growing aggressiveness.
Pyongyang sees these exercises as rehearsals for an invasion of the country, justifying nuclear and ballistic weapons programs as necessary to defend itself.
Analysts said North Korea is likely to use the training as a pretext for further missile and nuclear tests.
On Friday, KCNA reported that Kim had ordered the military to step up military maneuvers in preparation for a “real war.”
In addition, the North Korean leader, who oversaw a new military exercise, ordered soldiers to prepare for “two strategic missions: first, to deter war and second, to start war.”
Washington and Seoul have stepped up defense cooperation in response to North Korea’s mounting military and nuclear threats.
Source: DN
