Seoul, Jan 24 (DPA) North Korea warned Sunday that it regarded South Korea’s threat of a military “first strike” as an “open declaration of war”, the state-controlled KCNA news agency reported.
Pyongyang’s response comes in the wake of comments from the South Korean Defence Minister Kim Tae Young that Seoul could take pre-emptive action if it believed its communist northern neighbour was about to launch a nuclear strike.
Those remarks have “created a grave situation”, a statement from the general staff of the North Korean People’s Army said, cited by KCNA.
“Our revolutionary armed forces will regard the scenario for ‘pre-emptive strike’ which the South Korean puppet authorities adopted as a ‘state policy’ as an open declaration of war,” the statement read.
Kim made his comments four days ago, although he made similar remarks two years ago.
The reclusive regime in Pyongyang, widely considered to be a nuclear power, pulled out of six-party talks last April, following criticism of a long-range missile launch.
It has since conducted further launches, and a nuclear test.
The talks – comprising Russia, China, Japan, North and South Korea and the US – have been on-and-off since 2003.
