Pyongyang sees drills by the United States and its allies as rehearsals for invasion and has long justified its blitz of missile launches as necessary “countermeasures”.
Seoul’s defence minister has been making unusually fiery remarks of late and last week warned that Pyongyang would face a “hell of destruction” if it engaged in any “reckless” action that “destroys peace”.
The two Koreas are at a “peak of escalating rhetoric and pre-emptive strike threats,” Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
The latest developments “clearly reflect the seriousness of the situation and the current (turbulent) state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula”, he added.
“PREPARATIONS FOR INVASION”
Pyongyang last year declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nukes programme, which the regime views as essential for its survival.
In a separate statement Thursday, Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, slammed the United Nations Security Council for convening a session to discuss the North’s latest ICBM launch, arguing it was a demonstration of Pyongyang’s inherent right to self-defence.
“The ceaseless military drills of the US and its vassal forces (remind) one of the overall preparations for invasion under the pretext of deterring threats from someone,” she said, according to KCNA.
“And the frequent appearance of the US nuclear weapons clearly (aimed) at the DPRK … is the root cause of escalating the regional situation,” she added, using the acronym for the North’s official name.
Pyongyang’s launch of a military spy satellite last month, which it claimed quickly began providing images of US and South Korean military sites, further damaged inter-Korean ties.
The launch fractured a military agreement between the Koreas established to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula, with both sides then ramping up security along the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that separates them.
Source: CNA
