NKorea slams joint US-South war games

SEOUL: North Korea warned Sunday that the United States will be “pour an annual war game in the South next week amid heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

Combative rhetoric between ahead depending on Washington’s the nations spiked after Pyongnext move. yang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles ( ICBM) last Seoul and Washington will begin month that appeared to bring Monday the “Ulchi Freedom much of the US within range, Guardian” (UFG) joint military sparking an intense warning by exercises involving tens of thouPresident Donald Trump that sands of troops that Pyongyang views as a highly provocative fury” on the North. rehearsal for invasion.

Pyongyang then threatened to “The joint exercise is the most fire a salvo of missiles towards explicit expression of hostility the US territory of Guam -- a plan against us, and no one can guarthat leader Kim Jong-Un last week antee that the exercise won’t evolve delayed, but warned could go - Rodong Sinmun newspaper.

“The Ulchi Freedom Guardian joint military exercises will be worsen the state of the peninsula,” the paper said.

Warning of an “uncontrollable phase of a nuclear war” on the peninsula, it added: “If the United States is lost in a fantasy that war on the peninsula is at somebody else’s doorstep far away from them mistaken than ever.”

Seoul and Washington have said the largely computer-simulated UFG exercise, which dates back to 1976, will go ahead as planned, but did not comment on whether the drills would be scaled back in an effort to ease tensions.

Around 17,500 US troops will participate in this year’s drills -- a cutback from last year -- according to numbers provided by Seoul’s defense ministry.

But South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported the allies were mulling scrapping an initial plan to bring in two aircraft carriers to the peninsula to take part in the drill.

South Korea’s top military of security situation on the peninsula was “more serious than at any other time” amid the North’s growing nuclear and missile threats, and warned Pyongyang of merciless retaliation against any attack.

“If the enemy provokes, (our military) will retaliate resolutely and strongly to make it regret bitterly,” said General Jeong KyeongDoo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his inauguration speech.