Seoul (AsiaNews) - North Korea warned this morning that its ballistic missiles can reach the US mainland, Japan and Guam. The threat follows the announcement on Sunday that the United States would help South Korea extend the range of its own missile system as a protection against North Korea.
In a statement, a spokesman at the North's National Defense Commission said that North Korea is ready to "strike not only the bases of the puppet forces" but also "the US imperialist aggression forces," and is prepared to match any enemy "nuclear for nuclear, missile for missile". North Korea usually refers to the South Korean military as "puppet forces".
Despite the bellicose propaganda, Pyongyang's recent rocket tests ended in failure. A test in April failed when the rocket exploded right after launch.
Likewise, nuclear weapons displayed in the latest military parade in the capital were in fact simply mock-ups, experts said.
"Such threats are nothing new," a source told AsiaNews. "Pyongyang's attitude is actually more restrained than usual. To keep up the morale of the people, especially the military, they need an enemy."
"However, the situation is critical," he added. "And the regime knows it. With soldiers defecting and famine in the background, if they do not change direction, there will be no one to rule."
