North Korea on Thursday threatened to respond to intensified US and South Korean military exercises with “offensive action,” the country’s official news agency, KCNA, reported.
The threat came a day after the United States sent nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Korean peninsula for joint air exercises with South Korean fighter jets in the final show of force against Pyongyang.
Tensions have risen in recent weeks due to the intensification of military exercises in Washington and Seoul.
KCNA said U.S. and South Korean military exercises, as well as the deployment of advanced U.S. military assets, had turned the peninsula into “a massive gunpowder mine that could explode at any moment.”
“The military provocations by the US-led warmongers have crossed the threshold of tolerance. This reality awaits a more explicit position and response from defense capabilities. [da Coreia do Norte]”, KCNA said in a comment attributed to an academic.
“North Korea will continue to demonstrate responsibility and confidence in the critical mission of war deterrence through offensive action,” he said.
US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim begins in Seoul during the day and talks with South Korean and Japanese authorities to discuss a response to North Korea’s intensification of weapons development and the threat of nuclear conflict. coordinate.
After scheduled meetings with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and other authorities in the country, Kim will participate in a meeting with South Korean and Japanese nuclear envoys on Friday, the South Korean government said.
In March alone, Pyongyang fired nearly 20 missiles in seven separate events, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, with the potential to reach the US mainland, and several short-range weapons designed to launch nuclear strikes against South Korean targets .
Source: DN
