US drills spark NK warning of ‘merciless’ attacks
Print Edition
AS the USS Carl Vinson plowed through seas off South Korea yesterday, North Korea warned the United States of “merciless” attacks if the carrier infringes on its sovereignty or dignity during US-South Korean drills.
F-18 fighter jets took off from the flight deck of the nuclear-powered carrier in a dramatic display of US firepower amid rising tension with North Korea, which has alarmed its neighbors with nuclear tests and missile launches since last year.
“While this is a routine deployment for the Carl Vinson strike group, really the centerpiece for us ... is this exercise we’re doing with the ROK navy called ‘Foal Eagle,’” Rear Admiral James Kilby, commander of Carrier Strike Group 1, told reporters, referring to South Korea as the Republic of Korea.
North Korea said the arrival of the US strike group was part of a “reckless scheme” to attack it. “If they infringe on the DPRK’s sovereignty and dignity even a bit, its army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater,” North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said.
North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“On March 11 alone, many enemy carrier-based aircraft flew along a course near territorial air and waters of the DPRK to stage drills of dropping bombs and making surprise attacks on the ground targets of its army,” KCNA said.
Last week, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles into the sea off Japan in response to annual US-South Korea military drills.
The death in Malaysia last month of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother has added to a sense of urgency in efforts to handle North Korea.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to make his first visit to South Korea on Friday.
Last week, the US ambassador to the United Nations said President Donald Trump’s administration was re-evaluating its North Korea strategy and “all options are on the table.”
China is vehemently opposed to the deployment in South Korea of an advanced US anti-missile system.
The US and South Korea say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system is for defense against North Korea, but China fears its radar could compromise its security.
The US began to deploy the system a week ago, a day after the latest missile tests.
South Korean and US troops began the large-scale joint drills, which are billed as defensive, on March 1.
China says the exercises do nothing to ease tension.
Last week, it called on North Korea to stop its weapons tests and for South Korea and the US to stop their drills.
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