Asia-Pacific

North Korea says it has ratified nuclear strike against US

Statement from Pyongyang threatens a “merciless attack” over hostile US policy

South Korean truck drivers walk to get in their trucks at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex. Pyongyang has previously threatened to close the border industrial zone, the last remaining example of inter-Korean cooperation which gives the North access to $2 billion in trade a year. Photograph: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters
South Korean truck drivers walk to get in their trucks at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex. Pyongyang has previously threatened to close the border industrial zone, the last remaining example of inter-Korean cooperation which gives the North access to $2 billion in trade a year. Photograph: Lee Jae-Won/Reuters
Wed Apr 03 2013 - 06:49

North Korea said it had "ratified" a merciless attack against the United States, potentially involving a "diversified nuclear strike".

"We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating US hostile policy toward the DPRK (North Korea) and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means of the DPRK and that the merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified," a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said in a statement carried by the English language service of the state news agency KCNA.

Earlier this evening the Pentagon said it was sending an advanced ballistic missile defense system to Guam in the coming weeks, as US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel cited a "real and clear" danger from North Korea.

The inter-Korean industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong is seen in this picture taken from the South Korean observation post near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas in Paju . Photograph: Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters
The inter-Korean industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong is seen in this picture taken from the South Korean observation post near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas in Paju . Photograph: Jo Yong-Hak/Reuters

North Korea has singled out US military bases in Guam, a US territory in the Pacific, and Hawaii among its potential targets in threats in recent weeks that have put the Korean peninsula on edge and triggered a change in the US defense posture and missile defense planning.

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"Some of the actions they've taken over the last few weeks, present a real and clear danger," Mr Hagel told an audience at the National Defense University in Washington. He said those actions had threatened the interests of South

Korea and Japan, but he also cited their direct threats against Guam, Hawaii and West Coast of the United States.

Shortly after Mr Hagel spoke, the Pentagon said it was deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD), which includes a truck-mounted launcher, interceptor missiles, an AN/TPY-2 tracking radar and an integrated fire control system.

"The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and stands ready to defend US territory, our allies, and our national interests," a Pentagon spokeswoman said.

Reuters