North Korea test-fires four ballistic missiles from a launch pad near North Korea's main missile base in Dongchang-ri towards the East Sea on Monday. [Yonhap Photo]
North Korea rattled sabres at the United States Tuesday, warning its missile unit has conducted an exercise aimed at wiping out US troops based in Japan with nuclear weapons.
The threat came a day after North Korea fired several missiles into the sea amid high military tensions elevated by a major military exercise by US and South Korean troops. Three fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone after flying about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). The Pentagon suggested more than four could have been tested.
In a drill supervised by leader Kim Jong-un, a Hwasong strategic unit tasked to strike US bases in Japan demonstrated its strength to annihilate the enemy with a "merciless" nuclear strike, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Four North Korean ballistic missiles take off from a test launch site near North Korea's main missile base in Dongchang-ri on Monday. [Yonhap Photo]
North Korea is ready to destroy enemy bases with nuclear weapons if a single shell falls into its territory, KCNA said, citing Foal Eagle, an annual joint exercise launched by US and South Korean troops.
There are about 28,000 US troops stationed in South Korea. Extra US military assets and personnel come from abroad for the spring drills that Washington and Seoul insist are purely defensive in nature, but which Pyongyang condemns as provocative rehearsals for an attack.
Joint drills by South Korea and the United States have become more offensive-oriented, shifting the focus toward infiltration and preemptive strikes away from defense, in response the North's missile and nuclear programs.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
