North Korea Rattles Saber Once Again

North Korea is, once again, playing tough with more warnings of dire consequences for joint South Korean/American war game exercises.

From the AFP story:

"North Korea's military threatened Sunday to launch the 'severest punishment' against South Korea for staging massive joint war games with the United States this week.

"The North's army and people will 'deal a merciless counterblow' to the allies 'as it had already resolved and declared at home and abroad', a spokesman for the country's army General Staff said in a statement published by state media.

"'The military counteraction of (North Korea) will be the severest punishment no one has ever met in the world,' he said.

"The warning came a day before US and South Korean troops begin the 10-day computerised war games called 'Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG)'."

[...]

"This week's exercise is one of a series planned by the South -- either alone or jointly with the United States -- in the aftermath of the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.
The North has angrily denied responsibility for the sinking, which killed 46 sailors and sharply raised tensions on the Korean peninsula.

"Last month South Korea and the United States held a massive joint naval and air drill in the Sea of Japan (East Sea), which were opposed by Beijing.

"A week ago South Korea ended its largest-ever anti-submarine drill including live-fire training near the disputed Yellow Sea border.

"The war manoeuvres including the UFG exercise 'represent the phase of practical actions aimed at a full-dressed military invasion', the North's spokesman said.

"'The more recklessly the warmongers persist in the war rackets as a result of wrong policy option, the faster and deeper they will fall into the grave of self-destruction,' he said."

This is pretty standard rhetoric by the overheated North Korean regime. Reading through the official North Korean news source in English (a sure way to depress yourself) while picking random dates (I kid you not) one finds pretty constant warnings of dire consequences for the provocations of the US, South Korea, and Japan.

Stories from two dates I randomly selected:

December 1st, 1999:

"On November 20 the U.S. pacific command made public the size of the U.S. forces to be quickly hurled into the Korean peninsula for a total war there and its 'timeframe.'

"This proves that the 'operation plan 5027,' a scenario for the second Korean war of aggression published by the U.S., is not a mere fiction that poses threat but it has been carried into practice in full swing.

"Now the double-dealing tactics of the U.S. reminiscent of both sides of a coin is becoming clearer.

"By nature, the DPRK has never reposed expectations in the 'appeasement policy' of the U.S. crying for 'improved relations.'

"Out of the stand to solve the Korean peninsula issue only through dialog and negotiations it Decided to have high-level talks with the U.S. It was generous enough to stop missile test-fire which belongs to the sovereignty, during the negotiations with the U.S.

"Contrary to the sincere efforts of the DPRK, the U.S. had one war confab after another in an attempt to invade the DPRK and made public what it calls 'timeframe' for the deployment of the U.S. forces in emergency on the Korean peninsula, stepping up war preparations.

"This stand taken by the U.S. behind the scene of the negotiations for the 'improvement of relations' clearly shows that its Korea policy still remains unchanged to stifle the DPRK by force of arms rather than to pursue a peaceful settlement of the Korean peninsula issue.

"It is clear to anyone that the U.S. seeks to unleash a war of aggression at any cost, while paying lip-service to 'dialogue' and 'engagement.' This compels the DPRK to think of the negotiations with the U.S. again.

"The U.S. moves to stifle the DPRK militarily forced the DPRK to increase its self-reliant national defence capabilities in every way.

"It is the fixed stand of the DPRK to return force for 'strength,' dialogue for dialogue.

"Reckless military threat and blackmail cannot frighten nor bring the DPRK to its knees at all."

July 26, 2000:

"Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article calls upon the Korean people to frustrate the Japanese reactionaries' moves to grab Tok Islet, a prelude to their reinvasion of Korea.

"The article assails the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for claiming in its 2000-year 'diplomatic bluebook' that Tok Islet is their 'proper territory.' This is a grave infringement upon the dignity and sovereignty of the Korean nation, the article says, and goes on: Tok Islet has been part of Korea's territory since olden times.

"According to historical materials and documents of Korea and Japan, Koreans discovered Tok Islet before 500 A.D. and have since used this as a fishing center.

"A state measure was taken to bring Tok Islet under the jurisdiction of Uljin Prefecture, Kangwon Province in 512 A.D.

"The Japanese reactionaries once again laid bare their true colors as savage plunderers who stoop to nothing to achieve their design for territorial expansion when they raised this claim.

"Japan's aim to grab Tok Islet is to loot natural resources abundant in the area surrounding the islet and build a military springboard on it from which to launch reinvasion of Korea.

"The Japanese reactionaries' moves to grab Tok Islet have reached a very grave stage.

"Recently the Japanese government took an administrative measure to apply Japanese census register to Tok Islet.

"The three services of the Japan 'Self-Defence Forces' secretly staged an 'exercise of taking over Tok Islet' in Iojima recently.

"They seek to let Japanese settle on the islet with their family registers and deploy 'SDF' there under the pretext of 'protecting' them.

"The Japanese militarists' comeback to Tok Islet is near at hand.

"Japan is keen on a war, not peace and watching for a chance for reinvasion of Korea.

"The Korean people will never pardon the Japanese reactionaries' moves to grab Tok Islet, part of their inviolable territory.

"The Japanese reactionaries should clearly understand the will of the Korean people and drop their absurd dream of grabbing Tok Islet. [emphasis mine]"

Did you know that the Japanese were planning to invade North Korea in 2000? No? Well welcome to the world of North Korean "news" reporting.

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