N. Korea threatens US bases in Japan
SOUTH KOREA: North Korea on Thursday threatened strikes on US
military bases in Japan and Guam, escalating tensions as suspicion
deepened that Pyongyang was behind a cyber attack on South Korean
broadcasters and banks.
The tone of the strike threat, attributed to a spokesman of the
army's supreme command, blended with the torrent of warlike rhetoric
spewed out by Pyongyang in recent weeks, but stood out for its precise
naming of targets.
Military tensions on the Korean peninsula are at their highest level
for years, with Pyongyang irate at the use of nuclear-capable US B-52
bombers and nuclear submarines in ongoing joint military drills with
South Korea.
“The US should not forget that the Andersen base on Guam where B-52s
take off and naval bases on the Japan mainland and Okinawa where
nuclear-powered submarines are launched, are all within the range of our
precision target assets,” the army spokesman said.
North Korea has successfully tested medium-range missiles that can
reach Japan, but has no proven long-range missile capability that would
allow it to hit targets on the US mainland or Guam -- more than 2,000
miles away.
Nevertheless, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced last week
that Washington had decided to bolster missile defences along the US
west coast so as to “stay ahead of the threat” from the North Korean
regime.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un had issued a more general threat to
destroy US bases “in the operational theatre of the Pacific” on
Wednesday, as he directed a drone strike exercise. Still photographs
broadcast on state television seemed to show what looked like a
rudimentary drone being flown into a mountainside target and exploding.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported last year that the North was
developing unmanned strike aircraft using old US target drones imported
from the Middle East.
Kim has personally overseen a host of rocket and artillery drills in
recent weeks, mostly at frontline bases near the disputed maritime
border with South Korea which has been a flashpoint for military clashes
in the past. Since the UN Security Council tightened sanctions on North
Korea over its nuclear test last month, Pyongyang has issued a range of
apocalyptic threats including “pre-emptive” nuclear strikes.
AFP |