By Jun Ji-hye
North Korea threatened to take its “toughest” military action, Thursday, as South Korea and the United States began a large-scale joint military drill the previous day.
In response, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the North will only face firm retaliation if it pushes for any provocations.
Seoul and Washington began their annual two-month field training exercise, Foal Eagle, Wednesday, and plan to conduct Key Resolve, a largely computer-simulated exercise, for two weeks from March 13.
The North’s General Staff of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) warned that Seoul and Washington will face a miserable end if they provoke the North as it is ready to “mercilessly” deter any nuclear aggression.
“Our army will counter them with the toughest counteractions as it already declared,” said a statement by the military carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “This stand of ours we clarified before the world is by no means empty talk.”
Col. Roh Jae-cheon, spokesman for Seoul’s JCS, warned of resolute retaliation against any possible provocations from the reclusive state.
“The joint drills by South Korea and the United States are defensive in nature, designed only to bolster our readiness and defend the Republic of Korea in the event of a contingency,” he said.
The repressive state has long been claiming that the exercises are “dress rehearsals” by “hostile” forces for a northward invasion with nuclear weapons.
Victor Cha, Korea chairman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, raised the possibility that the North is likely to undertake provocations in the coming weeks.
“A Beyond Parallel study predicts that military provocations by North Korea are likely during the period of the exercises,” he said, referring to the U.S. think tank’s website devoted to North Korea issues. “Beyond Parallel found that the four-to-eight week window prior to the exercise period is the best indicator of North Korean behavior during the exercises. When U.S.-DPRK relations during this window are coded as negative then the exercise period will see a high level of provocations.”