North Korea Warns US against Intercepting Missiles During Tests
North Korea has issued a stern warning to the United States and South Korea about taking military action against Pyongyang’s weapon tests, saying any such move would amount to “declaration of war.”
The warning came through a statement by Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which was carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, on Tuesday.
She also hinted that the North could fire more missiles into the Pacific Ocean in response to joint military drills by the US and its regional allies, saying, “The Pacific Ocean does not belong to the dominium of the US or Japan.”
The remarks echoed her similar comments last month, when she warned that Pyongyang might step up its military activities in response to increased presence of US’ strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula.
“The frequency of using the Pacific as our firing range depends upon the US forces’ action character,” she added at that time.
Separately, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry blamed recent aerial military exercises carried out by the South and the United States for “aggravation” of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula.
This came after the US and South Korea held the joint aerial exercises last month. The drills saw South Korea’s F-35A, F-15K and US F-16 fighters escorting American B-1B bombers as means of demonstrating the two countries’ defense capabilities and readiness posture.
The North conducted several missile launches throughout the past month, timing them around the aerial war games.
Right before the drills, North Korea confirmed that it had carried out a “sudden intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch in order to test its missile force’s combat readiness for counterattack.” And later, Pyongyang said it had fired at least two ballistic missiles.
The Tuesday statement by the Foreign News Section at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry also criticized the forthcoming military drills involving the US and the South.
Later this month, the two countries are scheduled to conduct more than 10 days of large-scale military exercises, including amphibious landings.
The drills are “designed to strengthen defense and response capabilities of the alliance by focusing within the exercise scenario on things such as the changing security environment … and lessons learned from recent wars and conflicts,” the allies said at a briefing on Friday.
Although, Washington and Seoul allege that their joint drills are defensive in nature, Pyongyang considers them to be rehearsals for invasion of its territory.
Source: AFP