North Korea is taking preventive measures
A day before Seoul and Washington began their joint military drills, Pyongyang announced it was taking “significant practical steps” to prevent war.
The meeting of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party was held under the chairmanship of Chairman Kim Jong Un.
AFP
On Sunday, state media announced that Seoul and Washington had decided to take “significant practical steps” to prevent war, a day before the start of their largest joint military exercise in five years.
“During the meeting, important practical measures were discussed and adopted to deploy more effective, powerful and offensive countermeasures,” the official KCNA news agency said. KCNA reported that the decision was taken at a Central Military Commission meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party chaired by Chairman Kim Jong Un.
The statement said the measures were aimed at “dealing with the current situation” amid “US and South Korean provocations reaching a red line,” but did not elaborate on the measures. South Korea and the United States are to begin “Independence Shield” drills on Monday, focusing on the “changing security environment” due to North Korea’s doubling down on aggression, the allies announced.
Will there be a new nuclear test?
The drills have systematically infuriated North Korea, which it views as a general rehearsal for an invasion of its territory, while justifying its own nuclear and ballistic weapons programs as self-defense.
Analysts say North Korea could use the drills as a pretext for further provocations, including missile tests and nuclear tests. KCNA reported on Friday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the military to step up military maneuvers for “real war”. In addition, the North Korean leader, who oversaw a new military drill, “ordered soldiers to prepare for two strategic missions: first, to prevent war, and second, to start war.”
Washington and Seoul have stepped up security cooperation in the face of growing military and nuclear threats from North Korea.
AFP
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