Guns blazing, Kim fires new warning at Trump
FLAMES flashing from their gun barrels, North Korea’s artillery puts on a stunning display of firepower.
At least 300 armoured vehicles lined up on a beach to take shots at mock enemy warships.
Tuesday’s military drill at Wonsan is said to have been the largest live-firing exercise ever staged by the regime in Pyongyang.
Its officials released the images yesterday as Donald Trump summoned the entire US Senate to the White House for a briefing about security in the region.
The US President has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to join South Korean forces in military exercises dubbed Operation Max Thunder. He warned that North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un posed ‘a real threat to the world’.
There had been fears Pyongyang would carry out a nuclear test or another missile launch on Tuesday, when it celebrated the 85th anniversary of the creation of its army. However an artillery drill was chosen instead. Independent observers were not invited to attend and experts said it was impossible to verify the images.
Military exercises in South Korea last week saw fighter jets and attack helicopters obliterate targets painted on hillsides just 15 miles from the border.
Senior aides to Mr Trump warned that ‘all options were on the table’ against Pyongyang, including military action. Last night’s White House briefing was expected to outline the latest intelligence on North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, America’s possible responses and diplomatic moves over enforcing sanctions on the regime.
The US navy commander in the region, Admiral Harry Harris, told politicians that America should consider putting extra missile defence capabilities in Hawaii to counter an attack from North Korea.
He said Hawaii, Japan or America could all
come under threat, and warned that Pyongyang would keep trying until it succeeded in developing a long-range missile capable of striking the US.
Work has already begun on installing a missile defence system in South Korea, which Admiral Harris said should be operational within days.
He said the advanced weapons shield aimed to bring Kim ‘to his senses, not to his knees’. The admiral added that the US would be ready ‘with the best technology’ to defeat any North Korean military threat.
The project has angered authorities in China and Russia, which see the powerful radars in the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system as a potential security threat.
China’s foreign minister urged all sides to resume negotiations. Wang Yi said: ‘Security and stability is quite fragile and there is a great danger that a new conflict, or incidents, could happen at any time. Therefore we call all sides to be restrained and avoid actions or words that could lead to new provocations.’
China has launched its second aircraft carrier – a move analysts heralded as a signal of its determination to become a major military power.
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is heading toward the Korean peninsula to join the nuclear-powered submarine USS Michigan.