North Korea claimed to have conducted a test of its "underwater nuclear system" off its east coast. The statement, broadcast on Thursday, comes nine months after the state first shared images of its armed underwater drones, whose nuclear capabilities have yet to be confirmed. The news came in response after days because the US, South Korea and Japan were participating in joint military exercises in the East China Sea - as part of an effort to improve responses to Pyongyang's ever-evolving nuclear threats, according to dailymail.co.uk
The drills that Washington, Seoul and Tokyo engaged in pose a "serious threat to North Korea's security", the North Korean defence ministry said.
Ο Κιμ Γιονγκ Ουν, εν τω μεταξύ, έχει επανειλημμένα υπερασπιστεί τις ασκήσεις που πραγματοποιεί, δηλώνοντας ότι η χώρα απλώς ετοιμάζεται για έναν πόλεμο που θα μπορούσε «να ξεσπάσει ανά πάσα στιγμή». Μόλις την περασμένη εβδομάδα, χαρακτήρισε τη Σεούλ ως «αρχικό εχθρό» του - ρίχνοντας την προοπτική της επανένωσης στο πίσω μέρος - ως μέρος της νέας στάσης του καθεστώτος απέναντι στον νότιο γείτονά του. Ένας ανώνυμος εκπρόσωπος του υπουργείου της Βόρειας Κορέας ανακοίνωσε τις ασκήσεις που γίνονται, τροφοδοτώντας έτσι περαιτέρω τις ανησυχίες ότι ο αρχηγός του κράτους που υποτίθεται ότι μόλις γιόρτασε μόλις τα 40α γενέθλιά του ετοιμάζεται για έναν ολοκληρωτικό πόλεμο. «Οι διάφορες θαλάσσιες και υποβρύχιες ασκήσεις θα συνεχίσουν για να αποτρέπουν τους εχθρικούς στρατιωτικούς ελιγμούς του ναυτικού των ΗΠΑ και των συμμάχων τους».
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Η μεγαλύτερη γενοκτονία που συνέβη ποτέ στον πλανήτη... ήταν των Ινδιάνων! Ένα ξεχασμένο Ολοκαύτωμα
The alleged exercise took place days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he would abandon his country's goal of peaceful reunification with South Korea and that his country would revise its constitution to designate South Korea as the most hostile foreign adversary.
The ministry spokesman went on to accuse the United States, South Korea and Japan of provoking with their recent military exercises - which North Korea has warned could soon see "catastrophic consequences". The state-run media outlet claimed the drones were deployed in waters off its east coast, though it did not specify a date. The tests, if true, will serve as the first display from the country's "Haeil-5-23" system - a project touted by Kim and his voters last spring as possessing nuclear and underwater capabilities. The "haeil" in the name translates to tsunami.
As of Friday, the Korean Central News Agency's claims have not yet been verified.The US has not yet responded to the recent provocation. The country's navy, along with Japan's and South Korea's, recently joined for their three-day tactical exercises on Wednesday.Tensions on the peninsula have risen to their highest point in years, with Kim stepping up weapons testing activity and threatening a nuclear showdown. The US and its allies in Asia have responded by stepping up their drills, which Kim calls a rehearsal for an invasion.
The officials accused Washington, Seoul and Tokyo of "further destabilizing the regional situation" and threatening the security of the North. The US, South Korea and Japan, meanwhile, say they have held more exercises in the past year as a deterrent response to the growing threat from the North, which has only worsened since New Year's Day.
Pyongyang highlighted the threat this week when it declared Seoul its main enemy. In the process, the regime said it had abolished several state agencies that had been devoted exclusively to reunification. They are now relying on occupying the South during a future war. It's a big change, as "in the past, when there was a risk of armed conflict, there was a back channel to keep it under control, but now there is none of that," said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute. on National Unification with Seoul.
North Korea has got rid of "any interference mechanism to prevent the conflict from getting out of control", he added. "The North's labeling of the South as the "original enemy" is not just rhetoric , words at any time could become action". Kim, however, claimed he had no intention of starting a war - but also appeared to be reluctant to do so. He has already stated that he will no longer recognize the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas, a decision reinforced by his military's recent live-fire demonstration just days ago. This has created "a growing possibility that the two sides could get into a military skirmish, which could lead to a wider conflict," Hong said.
What is worse is that Pyongyang has a very close friendship with Moscow and this triggers the reaction of Washington and Seoul to claim that the country is sending missiles for Russia's war in Ukraine in exchange for help with their satellite programme. As a result, they are now "most likely to be drawn into armed conflict," said Choi Gi-il, a professor of military studies at Shanji University. .
In 2010, when the North bombed the remote island of Yeonpyeong on the border with South Korea, killing four, Seoul's F-16s were "in the air ready to strike, but then-President Lee Myung-bak called it off" to avoid escalating the situation. "But if we have a similar incident, there is no guarantee that air power will not be used after hawks" by the Seoul administration, Choi said. In response, Pyongyang went on to warn that it could see the peninsula "reach full-scale war" in the worst-case scenario.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the nuclear envoys of the three allies gathered in Seoul and publicly condemned Pyongyang's rumored arms trade with Russia, just as North Korea's foreign minister visited Moscow and met with President Vladimir Putin. None of the countries have responded to the recent strike
