Seoul (AsiaNews) - The North Korean regime has put its army on alert, "ready to respond" to U.S. and South Korean military engaged in naval exercises off the coast of the peninsula. According to a press release issued this morning by an anonymous spokesman for the Korean People's Army , "the United States will be responsible for the tragic situations that may occur after bringing soldiers armed with nuclear technology into our territory."
The joint exercises between
Washington and Seoul were to begin today, but have been postponed for two days
due to the arrival of a typhoon . The
Japanese military will also take part in the " war games " , which include
search and rescue at sea. At
the moment , the three states' armies are engaged in a cooperative program for
weather forecasting and moving troops in the event of natural disasters.
However
, Pyongyang sees these activities as " direct threat " to its
sovereignty : " The
US should bear in mind that the Korean people and army are highly alert to
promptly and confidently cope with and foil blatant provocations of any hostile
forces in the world with its own powerful military muscle. "
Tensions
between North Korea and the rest of the world exploded for the umpteenth time
in early 2013, when the regime led by Kim Jong-un announced the development of
new nuclear weapons capable of hitting not only Seoul but also U.S.
bases in Guam and Hawaii .
In
a military escalation, Washington has responded by shifting some B-2 bombers
(capable of dropping atomic bombs ) to South Korean bases . In
April, the crisis seemed to have calmed: Pyongyang agreed to reopen the inter-Korean
industrial complex of Kaesong and also seemed ready to resume family
reunifications only
to cancel them at the last moment .