By Choi Sung-jin
North Korea, which is preparing to launch a long-range missile disguised as a satellite, has vehemently denounced the annual Korea-U.S. joint military exercise scheduled next month.
“If they push ahead with the Key Resolve joint drill, which includes new, notorious means of nuclear attacks, according to the so-called 4-D plans, that will no doubt be very dangerous playing with fire, heightening the risks of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula,” the Rodong Shinmun, a propaganda organ of the ruling Workers’ Party, reported Friday.
Commenting on the recent checkup of the South Korean military’s defense stance by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sun-jin, the paper poured out raw criticism, saying, “Lee toured the frontline, including islands in the West Sea, like a hungry dog pushing his underlings around at the outset of the New Year.”
The paper reiterated its numerously repeated phrases, describing South Korean leaders as “bellicose lunatics who join with external forces to invade the North, destroying peace and stability on this divided peninsula.”
The 4-D operational plan calls for coping with North Korean nuclear threats and missile launches with the four-phased steps of detect, disrupt, destroy and defend, and will be applied at the upcoming Key Resolve joint drill.