A TV screen shows a file image of North Korean missiles in a military parade. AP.
North Korea said on Thursday that it would respond to U.S. military activity with "overwhelming nuclear force” if deemed necessary.
The statement comes after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's visited Seoul this week.
- North
Korea's Foreign Ministry said that military drills by the U.S. and its
"vassal forces" threaten to destabilize the Korean peninsula.
- It added that North Korea has strategies in place to counter any U.S. military activity, including "overwhelming nuclear force."
- Washington
rejected the North Korean accusations, saying that the U.S. has "no
hostile intent," and seeks "serious and sustained diplomacy," with
Pyongyang.
- During his visit to Seoul, Austin promised to
deploy more "strategic assets," to the Korean Peninsula and "expand the
scale," of U.S. military drills with South Korean forces, said South
Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup.
- North Korea's Foreign
Ministry cited Austin's visit as a "vivid expression" of what it said
will "result in turning the Korean peninsula into a huge war arsenal and
a more critical war zone."
- About 28,500 U.S. troops are
stationed in South Korea. The U.S. has maintained a military presence
on the peninsula since the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
- North Korea carried out a record number of ballistic missile tests last year and has begun repairing a nuclear weapons testing site that was shuttered in 2018.
