North Korea threatens nuclear attack ahead of South Korea-US military drills

Knoxville Times Monday 17th August, 2015...

north korea threatens nuclear attack ahead of south korea-us military drills

• North Korea has threatened to "retaliate against the US with tremendous muscle"

• United States and other powers conduct the drills with South Korea every year

• Just as the event itself is annual, so too are the condemnations and threats

PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Korea has threatened to "retaliate against the US with tremendous muscle" if it doesn't cancel multinational military exercises scheduled to begin Monday and conclude on August 28th.

The United States and other powers conducts the drills with South Korea every year "to enhance ... readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula," according to a statement from the Korea-US Combined Forces Command.

Just as the event itself is annual, so too are the condemnations and vocal threats of retaliation from the reclusive North Korean dictatorship.

"The further Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises are intensified, the strongest military counteraction the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) will take to cope with them," said a spokesman for North Korea's National Defense Commission (NDC) on Saturday.

The US State Department has said that it is aware of the threats, but had given no indication that they will influence the exercises. The drills are transparent, defense-minded and are designed to increase the readiness of South Korea and the region, says the US government.

"These exercises are a clear demonstration of the US commitment to the alliance," the State Department official said.

Threatening military action is nothing new for the regime in Pyongyang (Kim Jong Un told his troops they should be ready to fight a "sacred war" in the days leading up to the exercises in 2012).

Last year North Korea threatened to declare war if President Obama did not personally ban a US comedy film depicting an attempt assassinate Kim Jong Un.

The rhetoric coming out of Pyongang in recent days has changed, however, with the country for the first time threatening to launch a nuclear attack on the United States itself.

"The army and people of the DPRK are no longer what they used to be in the past when they had to counter the US nukes with rifles," the NDC spokesman said, saying North Korea "is the invincible power equipped with both [the] latest offensive and defensive means unknown to the world..."

A state television report repeated this claim, referring to North Korea's alleged possession of nuclear missiles.

"If [the] United States wants their mainland to be safe," said a newswoman for the state TV station, KCNA, "then the Ulchi Freedom Guardian should stop immediately."

However, military experts question the extent of North Korea's ability to launch a nuclear missile at a distant target such as the continental United States, and many have suggested that Kim Jong Un is merely trying to get attention while the US is focused on ISIS and other more serious threats.

 

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