Pyongyang Issues Fresh Threat as U.S.-South Korea Drills Begin Pyongyang commonly makes threats during joint exercises, in part for domestic consumption By Alastair Gale
http://www.wsj.com/articles/pyongyang-issues-fresh-threat-as-u-s-south-korea-drills-begin-1457320266
SEOUL—North Korea issued a new nuclear threat against the U.S. and South Korea as the allies began major joint military exercises.
Pyongyang commonly makes threats during joint exercises—in part, experts say, to solidify support among its military for the North Korean leadership.
This year’s annual spring exercises in South Korea are some of the biggest ever, involving 17,000 U.S. troops and around 300,000 South Korean troops. Starting Monday and running through April, they are intended to ensure readiness for any North Korean attack through a combination of battlefield and computer-simulated exercises.
The simulations will include offensives against North Korea’s top leadership and its nuclear and missile arsenal in the event of a war, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported, citing unnamed South Korean military sources.
North Korea responds angrily to any suggestion that dictator Kim Jong Un would be the target of an attack. Its top military body, the National Defense Commission, said in a statement Monday it would take a “pre-emptive and offensive nuclear strike” in response to the exercises. CONTINUE AT SITE
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