Seoul (agencies)
North Korea warned yesterday that it could take “more forceful measures” if the United States continued its “military provocations”, citing its large-scale joint air exercises with South Korea.
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman denounced the ongoing joint air exercises by the two allies, describing them as “nonstop and reckless” military provocations, according to Yonhap News Agency.
The unnamed spokesman said in a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency: that the exercises are “a war exercises of aggression aimed mainly at striking the strategic targets of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) in the event of an emergency on the Korean peninsula.”
On Monday, the two countries began their first massive joint air exercise in nearly five years, with more than 240 aircraft, including stealth aircraft, mobilized over the skies over the peninsula amid growing speculation that Pyongyang may conduct a nuclear test soon. The exercises are scheduled to continue until Friday.
The North Korean official warned that Pyongyang “is ready to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty, security of its people and territorial integrity from external military threats.” “If the United States continues with serious military provocations, North Korea will consider more aggressive follow-up measures,” the spokesman said.
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