North Korea threatens South, US with ‘most horrible price in history’

[beijingwalker]

North Korea threatens South, US with ‘most horrible price in history’​

Pyongyang ups rhetoric against rivals’ ongoing military drills, warning it will use nuclear weapons if Washington or Seoul attacks; accuses Pentagon of planning regime collapse​

By HYUNG-JIN KIM1 November 2022, 9:24 pm

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea issued a veiled threat Tuesday to use nuclear weapons to get the US and South Korea to “pay the most horrible price in history,” an escalation of its fiery rhetoric targeting the ongoing large-scale military drills between its rivals.

Animosities on the Korean Peninsula have been running high in recent months, with North Korea testing a string of nuclear-capable missiles and adopting a law authorizing the preemptive use of its nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations. Some experts still doubt North Korea could use nuclear weapons first in the face of more superior US and South Korean forces.

North Korea has argued its recent weapons tests were meant to issue a warning to Washington and Seoul over their series of joint military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal, including this week’s exercises involving about 240 warplanes.

Pak Jong Chon, a secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party who is considered a close confidant of leader Kim Jong Un, called the so-called “Vigilant Storm” air force drills “aggressive and provocative.”

Pak also accused the Pentagon of formulating a North Korean regime collapse as a major policy objective in an apparent reference to the Pentagon’s recently released National Defense Strategy report. The report stated any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners “will result in the end of that regime.”

He slammed South Korean military leaders over what he called “rubbish” comments that threatened to destroy North Korea if it uses nuclear weapons. South Korea’s military has warned North Korea that using its nuclear weapons would put it on a “path of self-destruction.”

“If the US and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against (North Korea) without any fear, the special means of the (North’s) armed forces will carry out their strategic mission without delay,” Pak said, in an apparent reference to his country’s nuclear weapons.

“The US and South Korea will have to face a terrible case and pay the most horrible price in history,” he said.

US and South Korean officials have steadfastly said their drills are defensive in nature and that they have no intentions of attacking North Korea.

Pak’s statement is the North’s second warning to the United States and South Korea this week. On Monday, the North’s Foreign Ministry warned of “more powerful follow-up measures” in response to its rivals’ air force drills.

South Korean officials have said North Korea could up the ante in coming weeks by detonating its first nuclear test device since September 2017, which could possibly take the country a step closer to its goals of building a full-fledged nuclear arsenal capable of threatening regional U.S. allies and the American mainland.

Some experts say North Korea would eventually want to use its expanded nuclear arsenal as a leverage in future negotiations with the United States to win sanctions relief and other concessions.

North Korea threatens South, US with ‘most horrible price in history’

Pyongyang ups rhetoric against rivals' ongoing military drills, warning it will use nuclear weapons if Washington or Seoul attacks; accuses Pentagon of planning regime collapse

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[khansaheeb]

North Korea threatens South, US with ‘most horrible price in history’​

Pyongyang ups rhetoric against rivals’ ongoing military drills, warning it will use nuclear weapons if Washington or Seoul attacks; accuses Pentagon of planning regime collapse​

By HYUNG-JIN KIM1 November 2022, 9:24 pm

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea issued a veiled threat Tuesday to use nuclear weapons to get the US and South Korea to “pay the most horrible price in history,” an escalation of its fiery rhetoric targeting the ongoing large-scale military drills between its rivals.

Animosities on the Korean Peninsula have been running high in recent months, with North Korea testing a string of nuclear-capable missiles and adopting a law authorizing the preemptive use of its nuclear weapons in a broad range of situations. Some experts still doubt North Korea could use nuclear weapons first in the face of more superior US and South Korean forces.

North Korea has argued its recent weapons tests were meant to issue a warning to Washington and Seoul over their series of joint military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal, including this week’s exercises involving about 240 warplanes.

Pak Jong Chon, a secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party who is considered a close confidant of leader Kim Jong Un, called the so-called “Vigilant Storm” air force drills “aggressive and provocative.”

Pak also accused the Pentagon of formulating a North Korean regime collapse as a major policy objective in an apparent reference to the Pentagon’s recently released National Defense Strategy report. The report stated any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies and partners “will result in the end of that regime.”

He slammed South Korean military leaders over what he called “rubbish” comments that threatened to destroy North Korea if it uses nuclear weapons. South Korea’s military has warned North Korea that using its nuclear weapons would put it on a “path of self-destruction.”

“If the US and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against (North Korea) without any fear, the special means of the (North’s) armed forces will carry out their strategic mission without delay,” Pak said, in an apparent reference to his country’s nuclear weapons.

“The US and South Korea will have to face a terrible case and pay the most horrible price in history,” he said.

US and South Korean officials have steadfastly said their drills are defensive in nature and that they have no intentions of attacking North Korea.

Pak’s statement is the North’s second warning to the United States and South Korea this week. On Monday, the North’s Foreign Ministry warned of “more powerful follow-up measures” in response to its rivals’ air force drills.

South Korean officials have said North Korea could up the ante in coming weeks by detonating its first nuclear test device since September 2017, which could possibly take the country a step closer to its goals of building a full-fledged nuclear arsenal capable of threatening regional U.S. allies and the American mainland.

Some experts say North Korea would eventually want to use its expanded nuclear arsenal as a leverage in future negotiations with the United States to win sanctions relief and other concessions.

North Korea threatens South, US with ‘most horrible price in history’

Pyongyang ups rhetoric against rivals' ongoing military drills, warning it will use nuclear weapons if Washington or Seoul attacks; accuses Pentagon of planning regime collapse

www.timesofisrael.com

Which idiot would be idiotic enough to think such an idiotic thing:-"Some experts still doubt North Korea could use nuclear weapons first in the face of more superior US and South Korean forces."

 

[beijingwalker]

In fresh escalation, North Korea fires ballistic missile near South Korean territory​

A TV screen showing file footage of a North Korean missile test in Seoul on Friday | AFP-JIJI
BY JESSE JOHNSON
Nov 2, 2022

North Korea fired off at least 10 missiles of various types from its east and west coasts on Wednesday morning, including at least one that landed near South Korean territorial waters for the first time since the 1953 division of the peninsula, Seoul said.

The South Korean military announced later in the day that its fighter jets had responded by firing three air-to-surface missiles into waters north of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime boundary between the two countries, the South's Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol slammed the North's launches as "effectively a violation of our territory," his office said in a statement as he called on the military to remain on guard for additional "high-intensity provocations."

Seoul initially announced that the North had fired three short-range ballistic missiles, with one of the missiles falling into waters south of the NLL.

The South Korean military said that launch marked "the first time since the division of the peninsula" that a missile had "landed near our territorial waters south of the Northern Limit Line." It called the move "very rare and intolerable."

That missile had prompted a rare air raid warning as it headed toward the island of Ulleungdo, some 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of the Korean Peninsula, before eventually landing in the Sea of Japan. Another, the missile that landed the closest to South Korea, fell into waters just 57 kilometers east of the city of Sokcho.

Ulleungdo, a popular tourist destination, sits about 50 km from the Japanese-claimed, South Korean-controlled Takeshima islets, known by Seoul as Dokdo. Local media reported that the alert told residents of the island to "evacuate to the nearest underground shelter."

Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, meanwhile, said Tokyo was continuing to analyze the launches, but confirmed the North had fired off at least two ballistic missiles. He said the weapons, which appeared to have been missiles designed to evade defenses, had flown on irregular trajectories before landing in the Sea of Japan, outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 km) from its coast.

The defense chief said the first missile had hit a maximum altitude of around 150 km and traveled around 150 km, while the second hit a top altitude of 100 km and traveled 200 km.

"North Korea has recently launched ballistic missiles in rapid succession, and its series of provocation after provocation and the unilateral escalation of its actions threaten the peace and security of our region and the international community, and are absolutely unacceptable," Hamada said, adding that Tokyo had strongly protested the latest launches through the North's embassy in Beijing.

The move comes amid the joint U.S.-South Korea Vigilant Storm air exercises, which feature about 240 warplanes — including advanced F-35 stealth fighters — conducting around 1,600 sorties. Those drills began Monday and will run through Friday.

Late Tuesday, Pak Jong Chon, secretary of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party and a confidant of leader Kim Jong Un, delivered a veiled threat to use the country's nuclear weapons if they are attacked.

"If the U.S. and south Korea attempt to use armed forces against the DPRK without any fear, the special means of the DPRK's armed forces will carry out their strategic mission without delay and the U.S. and south Korea will have to face a terrible case and pay the most horrible price in history," the official Korean Central News Agency quoted Pak as saying, using the acronym for the North's official name.

The North often uses the word "strategic" in reference to its nuclear weapons program.

Pyongyang has slammed the joint U.S.-South Korean exercises as a rehearsal for invasion and threatened to unleash "powerful measures" if they are not halted.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday in Washington that the North "knows full well that the military exercises that we conduct are purely, purely defensive in nature, and they do nothing more than support the security of our allies in the region."

This has led some observers to conclude that North Korea could be laying the groundwork for conducting its seventh nuclear test — its first since 2017. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said last week that the North had completed preparations for the test, a view echoed by the U.S. and Japan.

South Korea's spy agency said last month that leader Kim could give the go ahead for a nuclear test sometime before the Nov. 8 U.S. midterm congressional elections.

Asked about the timing of a fresh North Korean nuclear test, Price reiterated that it "is something that we, our Japanese allies, our South Korean allies have been concerned about for some time."

"We’ve spoken in some detail about a number of steps that the DPRK appears to have taken and finalizing in important ways the steps that would need to be in place were it to conduct another seventh nuclear test," he said.

"Our message has been a very simple one: there would be profound costs and profound consequences if the DPRK were to take this dangerous, destabilizing step in contravention of not only U.N. Security Council resolutions but what it is hearing very clearly from countries around the world," he added.

In fresh escalation, North Korea fires ballistic missile near South Korean territory

Seoul said the missile, which comes amid major U.S.-South Korean military drills, had headed toward the South Korean island of Ulleungdo before landing in the high seas.

www.japantimes.co.jp

 

[beijingwalker]

U.S. condemns North Korea's latest missile launch​

Reuters

Nov 2 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday condemned North Korea's latest launch of a ballistic missile, which landed less than 60 kilometres off South Korea's coast, the first time an apparent test had landed near the South's waters, a State Department spokesperson said.

A State Department spokesperson said the launches are in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and threaten peace and stability in the region.

U.S. condemns North Korea's latest missile launch

The United States on Wednesday condemned North Korea's latest launch of a ballistic missile, which off South Korea's coast, the first time an apparent test had landed near the South's waters, a State Department spokesperson said.

www.reuters.com