North Korea has released a synthesized video showing shooting athletes targeting American soldiers, followed by a missile attack on the US mainland after US and South Korean troops conducted a joint operation aimed at decapitating Pyongyang's leadership
The video, posted on "DPRK Today", one of Pyongyang's state websites, on Sunday, starts with images of North Korean shooting athletes involved in training. With captions reading "Blood for blood" and "Death to US imperialists", images showed American soldiers being used as the target of shooters
The video carried messages describing the United States as the "sworn enemy" of North Koreans and slamming Washington for trying to bring the disaster of a "nuclear war" to the Korean peninsula. It ends with an image showing missiles flying to the United States, along with a message reading "Let's wipe out the stronghold of aggression and provocation".
The video followed a North Korean military statement that Pyongyang was ready to stage a pre-emptive strike in response to joint drills by South Korean and US troops.
As part of an annual spring exercise, US and South Korean commandos have tested their teamwork for an operation aimed at removing North Korea's leadership and top commanders in charge of nuclear weapons. From 2015, US and South Korean troops began testing a joint operational scheme to test preemptive attacks targeting North Korea's leadership. In response, Pyongyang has threatened to strike South Korea's presidential office.
Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com