The North Koreans did not like the joint US-South Korean military exercises. “The red line has been reached,” said the press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea. According to Pyongyang, the US and its allies are threatening to turn the Korean Peninsula into a “giant war arsenal and an even more critical war zone.”
North Korea is very unhappy with the recent joint military exercises between the US and South Korean air forces. The maneuvers were in response to “nuclear and ballistic threats from North Korea,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. In doing so, however, they have reached an “extreme red line,” Pyongyang says.
In a press release published by North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency, the State Department said it was not interested in dialogue with Washington as long as the US pursued a hostile policy. “The military and political situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region has reached the extreme red line due to the reckless military maneuvers and hostile actions of the US and its proxies,” a ministry spokesman said in a statement.
If the United States takes further military action in the future, North Korea is ready to respond. The country has a “strong plan”, they warn, including “the most overwhelming nuclear power”.
The White House stated that they “have no hostile intentions” and “are committed to serious and sustainable diplomacy to resolve all issues affecting both countries and the region.” Washington is also ready to meet with North Korean diplomats “at a time and place convenient for them.”
On Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, pledged to expand military exercises and deploy more “strategic assets” such as aircraft carriers and long-range bombers. With this, they want to oppose the development of North Korean weapons and prevent war.
Source : HLN
