North Korea 'ready for war' after US
redeploys navy strike team...
Pyongyang cites ‘reckless moves’ by US and
says it will defend the country from invasion ‘by powerful force of arms’,
according to reports
North Korea has warned of “catastrophic
consequences” in response to any further provocations by the US, days after a
US navy battle group was sent to waters off the Korean peninsula.
The decision to divert the USS Carl Vinson
aircraft carrier and other battleships from a planned visit to Australia to the
western Pacific came after tensions increased over ongoing military drills
involving American and South Korean forces that Pyongyang regards as a dress
rehearsal for an invasion.
“We will hold the US wholly accountable
for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions,”
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted a foreign ministry
spokesman as saying. “(North Korea) is ready to react to any mode of war
desired by the US.”
The spokesman cited Washington’s refusal
to rule out a pre-emptive strike against North Korean missile sites as
justification for its nuclear programme.
“The prevailing grave situation proves
once again that (North Korea) was entirely just when it increased in every way
its military capabilities for self-defence and pre-emptive attack with a
nuclear force as a pivot,” the spokesman said, according to KCNA.
“We will take the toughest counteraction
against the provocateurs in order to defend ourselves by powerful force of
arms.”
Last week’s US strike against a Syrian
base is also being seen as a warning to North Korea, after Donald Trump said
Washington was prepared to act alone if China failed to exert more pressure on
its neighbour to halt its missile and nuclear weapons programmes.
North Korea again defied UN resolutions
banning it from developing ballistic missile technology with another
test-launch on the eve of Trump’s summit with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping,
in Florida last week.
White House officials have signalled that
all options – including pre-emptive strikes – remain on the table in addressing
North Korea’s steady advance towards developing long-range missiles capable of
carrying a nuclear warhead as far as the US mainland.
The nuclear-powered Carl Vinson’s presence
in the area coincides with speculation that North Korea could be preparing to
conduct its sixth nuclear test to coincide with key dates in the country’s
history, including the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Kim
Il-sung, on Saturday.
China’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, has
played down reports that Beijing has deployed 150,000 troops to its border with
North Korea.
Hua Chunying, a foreign ministry
spokesperson, told reporters she was “not aware” of such a mobilisation by the
People’s Liberation Army along the 880-mile border. In the past, similar
reports had been proven “groundless and false,” Hua claimed.
However, with regional tensions building
ahead of Saturday’s Kim Il-sung commemorations, Hua said China was “closely
following” developments on the Korean peninsula.
“We believe that, given the current
situation, all relevant parties should exercise restraint and avoid activities
that may escalate the tension.”
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