South Korea issues North stern warning after threat to hit presidential residence
South Korea has once again warned the North that its “provocations” risk speeding up the “collapse of its dictatorial system” following North Korea's threat to attack the South.
The South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff issued the warning in a statement on Wednesday, responding to an earlier threat by the North Korean military to blow up the presidential Blue House in Seoul, AFP reported.
“North Korea must keep in mind that it will be responsible for all situations arising from its reckless provocations and we warn it will only speed up the collapse of its dictatorial system,” it said.
North Korea will face “stern punishment” if it ignored Seoul’s warning, the statement added.
The North Korean military had leveled the threat in response to the prospect of the South’s annual joint war games with the United States. Code-named Key Resolve/Foal Eagle, the drills are to be held in their largest-ever proportions in the next month.
Washington will dispatch 15,000 troops to the computer-simulated Key Resolve drill, up from 3,700 last year. The drill, which lasted 10 days in 2015, usually begins simultaneously with the Foal Eagle field exercise.
Pyongyang charges that the exercises are a rehearsal for invasion, while Seoul and Washington describe them as defensive.
North Korea, which is under United Nations sanctions over its nuclear tests and missile launches, accuses the US of plotting with regional allies to topple its government.
Pyongyang declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and carried out four nuclear weapons tests in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016. It also launched a long-range rocket earlier this month reportedly aimed at placing an earth observation satellite into orbit.
Seoul and Washington have also announced a plan to install a controversial missile system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) on South Korean soil as a means of countering North Korea’s nuclear arms and missile capabilities.
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