- Pyongyang accuses the US of having taken the nuclear war scenario "to the final phase".
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| South Korean Air Force fighters at Gunsan base. |
North Korea warns the US and Seoul of "powerful retaliation" if they do not stop their military maneuvers in the region
North Korea demanded on Tuesday that the United States and South Korea stop the aerial maneuvers they are carrying out on the Korean peninsula, and warned of "more powerful" retaliation for considering them a threat to their sovereignty.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday in which it denounced the start on the eve of the largest military air exercises to date between the two allies, in which around 140 aircraft participated, including stealth fighters.
These maneuvers are "a war drill mainly aimed at attacking strategic targets of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) in case of contingency on the peninsula," the North stated in the text.
The situation on and around the Korean peninsula has entered "a phase of serious confrontation" due to the "incessant and reckless" military moves of the US and South Korea, he said.
Both countries carried out exercises in April, August, September, and October, which included the participation of a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier that especially irritated the North Korean regime.
These exercises "have a clearer aggressive nature than anywhere else in the world in terms of duration, scale, content, and density," said the North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman, who assured that "these facts clearly show that the nuclear war scenario of The US against the DPRK has entered the final stage."
Military maneuvers must end "immediately"
Pyongyang called it "absurd" that Washington blames him for increasing tension in the region and accused the North American country of "trying to shift responsibility for the escalation of tensions" towards the country.
North Korea "is ready to take necessary measures to defend its sovereignty," Pyongyang said, warning the US that "if it continuously persists with serious military provocations, the DPRK will undertake subsequent more powerful measures."
The regime warned the US that if it does not want the situation to worsen, it must stop the maneuvers "immediately". "If not, he will have to fully bear the blame for all the consequences."
The statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry was published hours after the start of the Vigilant Storm maneuvers, which will last until this Friday and have generated concern about a potential response from the regime, which so far this year has carried out projectile tests on an unprecedented rhythm until now.
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