Pyongyang considers recent common air maneuvers between Seoul and Washington as rehearsals with a view to an invasion of its territory.
Mo12345lemonde with AFP
You have to see the reply to recent joint air exercises from South Korea and the United States. The North Korean army was committed, during a meeting held Monday, February 6 under the direction of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, to amplify his military exercises.
In the agenda, was “the constant expansion and intensification of the operations and combat exercises of the Korean People’s Army (…) in order to strictly perfect the preparation for the war”, according to the Official agency KCNA.
In parallel, private satellite images suggest that “important preparations for a parade” military are underway in the capital Pyongyang, upstream of national festivals which take place soon. On February 8, North Korea celebrates the anniversary of the foundation of its armed forces, and on February 16, the birthday of Kim Jong-Il, father and predecessor of the current North Korean leader, Kim Jong- One.
“an extreme red line”
Last week, Seoul and Washington organized air exercises with strategic bombers and fighter fighter planes, causing the anger of Pyongyang, who said that such maneuvers could “trigger a total confrontation”. >
This demonstration of force of the two Allied powers comes after the American defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, and his South Korean counterpart announced increased security cooperation in the face of Pyongyang.
For North Korea, the measures taken by Seoul and Washington to intensify their joint exercises crossed “an extreme red line,” a spokesman for the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in KCNA said. Pyongyang considers these air maneuvers as rehearsals for an invasion of its territory.
According to Hong Min, researcher at the Korean Institute for National Unification, a research organization based in Seoul, Monday meeting of North Korean officers aimed to emphasize that the country was ready to face the next exercises joint soldiers and war.
The North Korean leader called in early January to an “exponential increase in nuclear arsenal” in North Korea, including the mass production of tactical nuclear weapons and the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) .