North Korea on Monday issued its latest belligerent threat, warning of an indiscriminate “pre-emptive nuclear strike of justice” on Washington and Seoul, this time in reaction to the start of huge U.S.-South Korean military drills.
Such threats have been a staple of young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since he took power after his dictator father’s death in December 2011. But they spike especially when Washington and Seoul stage what they call annual defensive springtime war games. Pyongyang says the drills, which started Monday and run through the end of April, are invasion rehearsals.
The North’s powerful National Defense Commission threatened strikes against targets in the South, U.S. bases in the Pacific and the U.S. mainland, saying its enemies “are working with bloodshot eyes to infringe upon the dignity, sovereignty and vital rights” of North Korea.
“If we push the buttons to annihilate the enemies even right now, all bases of provocations will be reduced to seas in flames and ashes in a moment,” the North’s statement said.
Responding to the North’s threat, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang Gyun said Monday that North Korea must refrain from a “rash act that brings destruction upon itself.”
This year’s war games will be the largest ever staged, involving 300,000 South Korean and 17,000 U.S. troops. South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing military sources, reported that the allies will work on drills for precision attacks on North Korean leadership and its nuclear and missile arsenal in the event of war.
A pre-emptive large-scale military strike that would end the authoritarian rule of the Kim dynasty is highly unlikely. There is also considerable outside debate about whether North Korea is even capable of the kind of “strikes” it threatens. The North makes progress with each new nuclear test — it staged its fourth in January — but many experts say its arsenal may consist only of still-crude nuclear bombs; there’s uncertainty about whether they’ve mastered the miniaturization process needed to mount bombs on long-range missiles and widespread doubt about whether they have a reliable missile that could deliver such a bomb to the U.S. mainland.
But North Korea’s bellicose rhetoric raises unease in Seoul and its U.S. ally, not least because of the huge number of troops and weaponry facing off along the world’s most heavily armed border, which is an hour’s drive from the South Korean capital of Seoul and its 10 million residents.
The rival Koreas’ usual animosity occasionally erupts in bloody skirmishes — 50 South Koreans were killed in attacks in 2010 that Seoul blames on the North — and there is always a worry about an escalation of violence.
Always ragged relations between North Korea and its rivals Seoul and Washington have worsened following North Korea’s nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket test last month that outsiders say was a test of banned ballistic missile technology.
The United Nations recently slapped the North with harsh sanctions, and South Korea has taken a harder than usual line, with a new North Korean human rights law and the president in Seoul warning of a collapsed government in Pyongyang. South Korea says it will announce new unilateral sanctions Tuesday.
Similar nuclear threats by the North were made in 2013, around the time of the springtime military drills, after the U.N. sanctioned the North over a nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.
Analysts say one part of North Korea’s traditional anger over the drills is that they force the impoverished country to respond with its own costly war games.
The Associated Press contributed this article.
KIM JUNG MENTALLY ILL, try it you won’t like the results, Idiot. Resign and set your people free.
Kim Jung must have ate a bowl of Wheaties for breakfast.
“If we push the buttons to annihilate the enemies even right now, all bases of provocations will be reduced to seas in flames and ashes in a moment,” the North’s statement said.
Maybe, there is no missile shield defense, the only one that might work would also cause enough radiation release to seriously contaminate the entire world. BUT, pushing a button does not cause instant annihilation. There would be plenty of time to push one more button launching a retaliatory strike with enough power to turn NK into a glowing parking lot. If he believes otherwise, I’d guess he is insane, in any event he’s obviously stupid. I believe the saying is “Dummer’n a box a rocks”.
It is a dangerous World and the Obama Administration and the Democrats are pushing Gun Control in America. In World War 11, our enemies planned an attack, invasion on mainland America. The reason that they abandoned the plan is because they believed that every American Citizen was armed and they could not win. If we had gun control and American Citizens were unarmed, they would have attacked with thousands of troops.
The World is still a dangerous place. American Citizens can not afford to be unarmed. Not only from invasion, but from the enemy within. A rogue government, who no longer represents “We the People.”
You are so correct. That is why Hitler was so successful. He first disarmed his country and they could not defend themselves. If we don’t learn from history we are doomed to repeat it! And we are. Wake Up America. It soon will be too late.
The Kim “dynasty” is one of total failure. The people of North Korea are impoverished and starving. The Kim era will be looked back upon as a time of total incompetence of the Kim leaders. Kim, his father and his grandfather have mistreated the North Koreans far more than any country would. If the Kim regime collapsed and a sane leader emerged the people of North Korea could have full stomachs within a few hours as relief supplies would be delivered from around the world.
I had hoped this guy would mark a departure from the failed leadership of his ancestors. I had hoped he would work to better life for the North Korean people. Unfortunately he has become the latest in a line of bad North Korean leaders.
Little Kim loves to bluster and rattle his tiny saber. There is always a bit of “unease” when this happens, because, like his Dad and Grandad, he’s a few French fries short of a Happy Meal. However, I think he’s got enough gray matter left to know how hollow his threats are. His BS is actually propaganda meant for domestic consumption, so that he can tell his people, “See that! I told ’em off good!”
The man child little KIM is full of it! Is he suicidal or just plain dumb?! For the Korean people to bow to such an immature, reckless (non chosen) leader, tells me lots about their brain power!
Take the pot belly pig out now before its to late! That freak needs to be done away with, some well aimed drone shots right up his fat little but wipe out the freak boy. His own people will be glad the mad man is gone.
What a puts brain take him out make a example of him for some of these other A.H.`S around the world !