Pyongyang, June 29: North Korea has condemned the US for stationing missile defense systems around Hawaii, deeming the move warmongering of Washington’s forces.
“Through the US forces’ clamorous movements, it has been brought to light that the US attempt to launch a pre-emptive strike on our republic has become a brutal fact,” North Korea’s main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary on Monday.
The paper was referring to a recent deployment of a US ground-based, mobile missile intercept system and radar system in Hawaii, amid a recent war of words between the two courtiers and fears that the North may fire long-range missiles capable of reaching the islands, some 4,500 miles away.
The war rhetoric between the two sides toughened following a last week summit between President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak where the US pledged to defend the South with nuclear weapons.
The paper also accused Washington of deploying nuclear-powered aircraft and atomic-armed submarines in waters near the Korean peninsula, saying the moves prove “the US pre-emptive nuclear war” on the North is imminent.
The commentary added that Pyongyang would bolster its nuclear arsenal in retaliation.
Tensions remain high in the troubled Korean peninsula following the North’s May 25 nuclear test and a series of missile launches since then, which resulted in new tougher UN Security Council sanctions on the impoverished state.
—–Agencies