War games raise tension

PLANNED war games by the United States and South Korea have already put North Korea on edge, as the rogue nation issued another threat.

The planned military drills this week between the two military forces will “precipitate their self-destruction”, North Korea said, a day before the exercises are to begin.

The Vigilant Ace exercises, due to last five days, will involve more than 230 warplanes and 12,000 soldiers from both sides.

The drill lasts until December 8 over eight air bases across the Korean Peninsula.

The US troops will be using the hi-tech F-35 Lightning IIs and F-22 Raptors, with both fighter jets said to be stronger than North Korea’s arsenal.

The F-35s can fly at speeds of 1931km/h and are capable of carrying nuclear bombs and bunker busters.

Meanwhile, the F-22 can hit speeds of up to 2414km/h and are armed with Vulcan miniguns and Sidewinder missiles.

South Korea is a key US ally in the region and relies on US military assistance for security against the North.

Troops from the two countries routinely train together, each time prompting outbursts from Pyongyang. A spokes- man for North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country said in the statement on Sunday that the goal of the training was to “totally destroy” North Korea, according to comments carried by North Korean state news agency KCNA.

“The US and South Korean puppet military warmongers should bear in mind that their escalating provocation and adding to crimes will only invite more terrible retaliation and precipitate their self-destruction,” read the statement.

The warning comes a day after North Korea’s foreign ministry warned that the US government was “begging” for a nuclear war.

Last week, North Korea launched a missile it claimed was capable of reaching the entire US mainland, raising new fears about the country’s nuclear arsenal and prompting the island US state of Hawaii to sound its nuclear-attack sirens for the first time since the Cold War.

The US agency tasked with protecting the country from missile attacks is scouting the West Coast for suitable places to deploy new anti-missile defences as North Korea’s missile tests raise concerns about how the US would defend itself from an attack.