N. Korea warns of nuclear war due to foreign provocation
by
Joseph Earnest March
27, 2013
Newscast
Media WASHINGTON—North
Korea says it is informing the United Nations of an imminent nuclear war
on the Korean peninsula due to provocation from Seoul and Washington.
"Our people and army are entering the
final stage of preparations for war against the United States to defend
their country's dignity and sovereignty," the North Korean foreign
ministry said in a Tuesday statement carried by the Korean Central News
Agency (KCNA).
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the KCNA also reported that top North Korean
leaders are scheduled to meet in the coming days to make a decision on
an "important" issue.
According to the agency, the Political Bureau of the Communist
Party's Central Committee will hold its meeting before the end of March
in a move to "discuss and decide an important issue for victoriously
advancing the Korean revolution."
The date of the meeting and the issue to be discussed have not been
specified, yet. However, analysts in South Korea believe decisions on
international relations, security and also the reshuffling of personnel
will be made at the meeting.
This comes as in a separate statement on Tuesday, the Supreme
Command of the Korean People's Army said that it has elevated its
artillery and strategic missile forces to "combat-ready posture," adding
that it was ready to strike US territory.
North Korea said it would "show off our army and people's stern
reaction to safeguard our sovereignty and the highest dignity through
military actions."
In reaction to the comments, Pentagon spokesman George Little said
that, "We are concerned by any threat raised by the North Koreans,"
adding, "We take everything they say and everything they do very
seriously. They need to stop threatening peace—that doesn't help
anyone."
On March 11, Seoul and Washington launched a week-long annual joint
military maneuver near the Korean Peninsula despite warnings from
Pyongyang. The maneuver involved 10,000 South Korean soldiers and about
3,000 US troops. Add
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