Politics

Pyongyang warns of ‘overwhelming’ response to Seoul, Washington moves

Seoul, Mar 7 (EFE).- North Korea on Tuesday threatened to take “overwhelming” action against the military movements of Seoul and Washington, which carried out maneuvers with a strategic bomber the previous day and are preparing for extensive new exercises.

Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, issued the warning in response to the “demonstrative military moves and all sorts of rhetoric” by the United States and South Korea, which are “so extremely frantic as not to be overlooked,” state media KCNA reported today.

She also warned that “it will be regarded as a clear declaration of war against the DPRK, in case such military response as interception takes place against our tests of strategic weapons that are conducted without being detrimental to the security of neighboring countries in the open waters and air which do not belong to the US jurisdiction.”

North Korea follows the military movements of the US and South Korea very closely and is “always on standby to take appropriate, quick and overwhelming action at any time according to our judgment,” Kim added.

The military drills by Seoul and Washington on Monday were carried out over the Yellow Sea and involved an American B-52 strategic bomber and South Korean F-15 and F16 fighters, according to South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense.

The exercises come days ahead of the Freedom Shield spring maneuvers, which run from March 13-23.

In February, Pyongyang warned that if the US continued to exercise its so-called “extended deterrence” policy and maintains its plan to hold major military exercises with South Korea this month, the regime could consider these actions as a declaration of war.

The so-called extended deterrence is a commitment made last May by Washington with Seoul that consists of sending US strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula based on the actions of the North’s regime.

There is high tension on the peninsula after 2022 in which Pyongyang, which has rejected offers to return to dialogue, carried out a record number of weapons tests and in which the allies once again carried out large-scale military maneuvers. EFE

asb/tw

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