As US-South Korean military exercises get underway, North Korea’s press warns Pyongyang “will immediately wage an act of deterrence” if “the military provocation” does not stop. Some experts believe North Korea might actually do something.

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) –  “North Korea will immediately wage an act of deterrence based on self-defence when dialogue is not resumed or the military provocation (the joint naval drill) crosses the line,” warned the Chosun Sinbo, a newspaper published in Tokyo (Japan) by the General Association of Korean Residents, as US-South Korean military exercises get underway.

For the paper, the exercises in the Sea of Japan increase military tensions since they cannot stop North Korea from strengthening its nuclear deterrent. The exercises, which run counter to an atmosphere based on dialogue, are likely to transform the “current scenario.”

The latter is based on a Presidential Statement issued by the United Nations Security Council on 9 July, which condemned the sinking of NOKS Cheonan without formally blaming North Korea  whilst inviting the parties with an interest in the affair to start talks.

Some experts believe Pyongyang might actually carry out its third nuclear test (the first took place in 2006 and the second in 2009). Some sources in Western intelligence services believe that North Korea has enough plutonium to build at least six nuclear devices.

For the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, the United States will “pay dearly if Washington continues to stir tensions on the peninsula.”

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