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North Korea Blasts 'US Warmongers' for Nuclear Bombing Drill

  • The DPRK saw the deployment of two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers as tentative to a potential nuclear strike on the country.

    The DPRK saw the deployment of two U.S. B-1B supersonic bombers as tentative to a potential nuclear strike on the country. | Photo: Reuters

Published 2 May 2017
Opinion

"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday.

Following training drills by strategic U.S. bombers on the Korean peninsula, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK, accused the United States on Tuesday of pushing the region toward all-out war as the crisis in East Asia shows few signs of abating.

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Monday's drill, which saw a pair of supersonic B-1B Lancer bombers flying alongside South Korean and Japanese air forces for two to three hours, took place as the U.S. and other countries continue to pressure the DPRK government over its continued attempts to develop its defensive missile programs.

"The reckless military provocation is pushing the situation on the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war," Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency said on Tuesday. The DPRK also denounced U.S. President Donald Trump and "other U.S. warmongers (who) are crying out for making a preemptive nuclear strike" on the DPRK.

"Any military provocation against the DPRK will precisely mean a total war which will lead to the final doom of the U.S.," the news agency added.

The DPRK test-launched a missile on Saturday that appeared to have been unsuccessful — this was its fourth successive test launch since March.

In recent weeks, Washington has driven up tensions with Pyongyang while media reports have circulated stories about alleged plans by the country to attack the U.S. mainland with its small nuclear arsenal. The United States remains the only country to have used nuclear weapons against another nation, when it dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese civilian cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and China have been “exploring options” for potentially stronger U.N. sanctions against the DPRK, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Permanent Mission to the United Nations. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also urged U.N. members to “suspend or downgrade diplomatic relations with North Korea” while threatening “to sanction third-country entities and individuals supporting the DPRK’s illegal activities,” referring to the southeast Asian nation's weapons tests.

While Trump has issued belligerent tweets toward Pyongyang, Beijing has noted that such threats fuel tension in the region. China has instead urged efforts on non-proliferation and the promotion of peace talks, but has also expressed its firm willingness to denuclearize the region.

A Monday editorial by state-run Chinese daily Global Times noted that China's fears primarily focus on the risks to China arising from an expanded DPRK nuclear program, such as potential nuclear leaks and social unrest resulting from any incident involving radioactive fallout in China's northeast.

“It is possible that the U.S. has ulterior motives in solving the nuclear issue and the worry of the Chinese people is reasonable,” the editorial noted. “But compared to the potential impairment brought about by the US' geopolitical containment of China, the danger of potential nuclear contamination of China's northeast is more urgent.”

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In contrast to the U.S.'s loud declarations that “all options are on the table” – a Washington cliché meant to convey that it will find a solution to the crisis by force – China has proposed a “double suspension” of military activities in the region. This would force Pyongyang to suspend missile and nuclear tests while requiring the U.S. to suspend its military drills.

China has also expressed concerns over the installation of the U.S. military's THAAD anti-missile system, whose powerful radar reaches deep inside Chinese territory. On Tuesday, China's foreign ministry called for an immediate halt to the deployment of the weapons system and declared that it would firmly adopt counter-measures in defense of its own interests.

As observers fear that the tit-for-tat actions of Washington and Pyongyang are bringing the Korean peninsula to the tipping point, many are hoping that the U.S. finally address concerns over its continued antagonistic moves in the region, which are hardly conducive to peace.

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