SEOUL, Feb 2 — North Korea said Thursday it will take the “toughest reaction” to the United States’ move to expand joint military exercises with South Korea, as the US defence chief has pledged to deploy more strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula to ensure its security commitment.
The North’s warning came as US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Seoul earlier this week for talks with his South Korean counterpart and said there would be more deployments of strategic assets, including F-22 and F-35 jets, to Korea in order to deter the North’s evolving military threats.
Pyongyang’s foreign ministry claimed the US has been driving the security situation on the peninsula toward an “extreme red-line” and is pushing to spur further tensions through joint military drills of larger scale and scope with South Korea.
“This is a vivid expression of the US dangerous scenario which will result in turning the Korean Peninsula into a huge war arsenal and a more critical war zone,” Yonhap news agency quoted the ministry as saying in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea will “take the toughest reaction” to any military action by the US under the principle of “nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation,” it added.
The North said it is ready to counter any military challenges from the US with the “most overwhelming nuclear force,” while stressing it is not interested in any dialogue with the US as long as Washington pursues a “hostile policy.”
Hours earlier, South Korea and the US staged combined air drills, involving B-1B strategic bombers, as well as F-22 and F-35B stealth fighters, from the US Air Force, in a show of Washington’s “will and capabilities” to provide credible extended deterrence against North Korea’s military threats.
In a related move, the allies plan to hold discussion-based table-top exercises this month to sharpen extended deterrence. Extended deterrence refers to the US’ commitment to use a full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
North Korea launched around 70 ballistic missiles last year alone, the most in a single year, amid persistent speculation it may conduct a nuclear test in the near future.
— Bernama
