North Korea also warned that any attempt by the United States and South Korea to target its supreme headquarters and major core facilities with a “high density strike” would be met by “an ultra-precision blitzkrieg strike of the Korean style”.
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The unknown class of submarine was operating off the North Korean coast in the last several days when the submarine went missing. They are not certain if it has sunk, or simply lost contact with its base.
A pre-emptive large-scale strike by North Korea against the South is highly unlikely when that would nearly certainly bring to an end the authoritarian rule of leader Kim Jong Un given the likely military response of the USA and South Korea. Participation in the joint exercises-known as Key Resolve and Foal Eagle-has been bumped up this year to involve 300,000 South Korean and around 17,000 USA troops, as well as strategic USA naval vessels and air force assets.
“Under the extreme situation that the US imperialist is misusing its military influence and is pressuring other countries and people to start war and catastrophe, the only way for our people to protect sovereignty and rights to live is to strengthen the quality and quantity of nuclear power and realize the balance of power”, Kim said, according to the KCNA.
The North denied South Korea’s previous accusation that it conducted cyber attacks against the South’s nuclear operator.
BROTHERS IN ARMS South Korean and U.S. soldiers take a position during an annual joint military landing exercise in Pohang, on South Korea’s southeast coast, on Saturday.
The accident comes at a time of heightened tension in the region as South Korea and the USA continue their largest-ever military exercise. The DPRK is an acronym for North Korea’s official name.
Tensions have risen sharply on the Korean peninsula after the North conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and fired a long-range rocket last month leading to the U.N. Security Council to adopt a new sanctions resolution.
This week Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said he was confident that the US military could knock out any North Korean ballistic missile in the sky.
Even after the war, the U.S has kept thousands of troops in South Korea, according to the U.S. Forces Korea webpage “to deter aggression and if necessary, defend the Republic of Korea to maintain stability in Northeast Asia” .
The U.S. Defense Department said this week it had seen no evidence North Korea had succeeded in miniaturizing a warhead.
North Korea invaded South Korea to unite the country under coercion.
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But the old, low-tech submarines still pose substantial threats to South Korean vessels.
