North Korea threatened Wednesday to stage a pre-emptive nuclear strike and wipe the United States off the face of the earth.
The North Korean Minister of Armed Forces Pak Yong-sik warned Washington on Wednesday not to "misjudge" Pyongyang, amid growing speculations of additional missile provocations, North Korean agency KCNA reported.
The threats by Pyongyang were made ahead of the 64th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. "If the enemies follow a dangerous path of a pre-emptive nuclear attack and continue to underestimate the strategic position of the DPRK (North Korea), the undefeated Revolutionary Army,... without any warning, will carry out the most fundamental pre-emptive nuclear strike in the heart of the American empire, wiping it from the face of the Earth and will finish till the end the historic reunification of the homeland," Yong-sik said.
The minister also said that the US is plotting its own preventive nuclear strike against the DPRK, fearing the growth of the military power of this country.
The North's warning came amid speculation that North Korea may be preparing to carry out another missile test launch around the anniversary.
Transporter vehicles carrying equipment for the firing of a ballistic missile were seen arriving in Kusong of the country's northwestern province.
Two Koreas technically at war
The armistice was signed on July 27, 1953, leaving South and North Korea technically in a state of war. North Korea and the United States are formally at war, as there was no peace treaty between them, and a cease-fire agreement in the DPRK has long been considered meaningless because of the military preparations of the US and South Korea.
North Koreans, however, believe that they defeated the United States in the Korean War 64 years ago and celebrate the day of the cease-fire on July 27 as a victorious day.
The new round of hostile rhetoric comes in the wake of comments from CIA Director Mike Pompeo during the July 21 Aspen Security Forum.
Nuclear hammer
A spokesman from the DPRK's Foreign Ministry said that the US officials are crossing the line with such statements and it "has now become clear that the ultimate aim of the Trump administration's hostile policy towards the DPRK... is ‘regime change.'"
"Should the US dare to show even the slightest sign of an attempt to remove our supreme leadership," the spokesman added, "we will strike a merciless blow at the heart of the US with our powerful nuclear hammer, honed and hardened over time."
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/7689
TAGS:
online news tv
