Pyongyang will take “more offensive action” in response to the recent US moves in the Korean Peninsula, the North Korean Defense Minister, No Kwang Chol, threatened on Saturday.
The Defense Minister’s remarks come a day after North Korea launched a ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast, according to Reuters.
US-ROK Military Moves
In a statement, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), No Kwang Chol denounced the US “brazen” military moves with South Korea.
He criticized the US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) alongside his South Korean counterpart, as well as their subsequent security talks in Seoul, accusing them of conspiring to strengthen deterrence against the North and to integrate their nuclear and conventional forces.
“We have correctly understood the hostility of the US to stand in confrontation with the DPRK (North Korea) to the last and will never avoid the response to it,” he said.
Furthermore, No mentioned the deployment of the US Navy’s 5th Carrier Strike Group, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington, in Busan, following the US-ROK joint air exercise “Freedom Flag.”
“We will show more offensive action against the enemies’ threat on the principle of ensuring security and defending peace by dint of powerful strength,” the North Korean Minister warned.
North Korea’s Missiles
On Friday, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast. In response, the US Indo-Pacific Command said that it “does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies”.
“The missile launch highlights the destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s actions, it added.
Last week, during the APEC summit in South Korea, Pyongyang test-fired cruise missiles while US President Donald Trump was meeting with regional leaders.
Moreover, Trump repeatedly expressed his desire to meet with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, but received no response.
