The North’s military said in a statement Monday that it will turn Seoul and Washington into “a heap of ashes through a Korean-style pre-emptive nuclear strike” if they show any signs of aggression toward the North’s territory.
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The JCS said that the communist state launched a SLBM from waters near the city of Sinpo at around 5:30 a.m.
The launch comes just two days after the US and South Korea began their annual joint military exercises that the North considers a rehearsal for an invasion.
Seoul officials condemned the launch as an “armed protest” against the start of annual South Korean-U.S. military drills that North Korean calls an invasion rehearsal. It also noted that the launch violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic missile activities by North Korea.
The launch came amid escalating cross-border tensions and just days after tens of thousands of South Korean and USA troops kicked off their annual “Ulchi Freedom” military drill.
North Korea’s latest military move has drawn condemnation from the South Koreans.
Jan said in the letter that the situation on the Korean Peninsula “has become unprecedentedly instable (cq) due to the introduction of nuclear strategic bombers, anti-ballistic missile system of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and other strategic assets by the U.S.to the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity”. -South Korean exercises on its agenda. Before the launch, North Korea warned that the joint military exercises were pushing the Korean Peninsula “to the brink of a war” and asked for an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
He also warned that “peace, security and relaxation of tension on the Korean Peninsula and in the region can not be thinkable unless the U.S”.
This comes amid the annual joint military exercise between US and South Korea, which kicked off on Monday.
North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs are a source of regional security concerns.
A North Korean diplomat posted in London recently defected to South Korea.
“These efforts are crucial and their significance and impact can not be underestimated”, said Odawara.
China’s U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi told the council that “nonproliferation can not be used as a pretext to beef up military deployment, step up military presence and scale up military exercises”.
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North Korea’s placing land mines on its side of the demilitarized zone with South Korea further exacerbates tensions and poses a “safety risk”, the State Department said Tuesday.
