Pyongyang has stepped up its bellicose rhetoric and its displays of military might since the adaptation of new worldwide sanctions against the country, following its fourth nuclear test on January 6 and the launch of a space rocket on February 7, which many consider a disguised ballistic missile test.
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South Korea’s Unification Ministry condemned the North’s announcement, calling it a “provocative action that can not be overlooked ” “.
Seoul suspended its participation in the project in retaliation for Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test and a rocket launch.
The drills, which started earlier this week, involve 17,000 United States and 300,000 South Korean troops, and are meant to test the allies’ ability to respond to North Korean attacks on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to be prepared to launch pre-emptive attacks against enemies US and South Korea.
North Korea escalated tensions further this morning by announcing it would “liquidate” all South Korean assets left in its territory, and firing two more ballistic missiles into the sea.
“The military is keeping close tabs on the situation and prepared to deal with any North Korean provocations”, an official from the JCS was quoted as saying.
South Korea’s defence ministry said it didn’t believe the country had been able to successfully miniaturise its nuclear technology, Reuters reports.
“We consider it to be absolutely impermissible to make public statements containing threats to deliver some “preventive nuclear strikes” against opponents”, a translation of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s response posted by NK News stated.
The North Korean statement also criticized the recently passed South Korean sanctions, which targeted a total of 34 organizations and 43 individuals affiliated with the North Korean economy and transport of weapons of mass-destruction (WMD).
The North fired six high-calibre rockets into the sea a week ago in protest at the adoption of tough, new sanctions on Pyongyang by the UN Security Council.
The U.S. Strategic Command said the bombers will conduct training with the Australian military during their deployment, which amounts to a show of force at a time of mounting tensions with North Korea.
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And state media on Wednesday published photos of leader Kim Jong-Un posing with what was claimed to be a miniaturised nuclear warhead.
