North Korea warns of 'overwhelming' measures against US, South Korea

ANKARA

North Korea on Monday warned of "sustained, resolute and overwhelming" practical military measures in response to joint military drills by the US and South Korea.

In a statement, the North Korean military also confirmed carrying out a four-day military operation from Nov. 2 to 5 in order to "demonstrate a thoroughgoing and resolute will against the grave situation" in the region.

“The serious situation created in the Korean peninsula owing to the reckless military frenzy of the United States and South Korea is getting more unstable,” said the Korean People's Army in a statement published by the state-run Central Korean News Agency.

North criticized the US and South Korea's recent large-scale six-day joint air drills and said their aggressive military drills are unpardonable acts that cannot be overlooked.

"It is, in fact, an open provocative act of intentionally aggravating tension in the region and in particular, a dangerous war drill with a very strong aggressive nature aiming at our state directly," said the military.

During the four-day military operations, Pyongyang said it launched four tactical ballistic missiles into the West Sea, and 23 ground-to-air missiles targeted at different altitudes and distances on the first day.

It also fired two strategic cruise missiles into the open sea in response to South Korea's air-to-ground guided missiles, it said.

On the second day, Pyongyang also launched "an important ballistic missile to verify the reliability of performance of warhead for special function paralyzing the enemy's operation commanding system," it added.

“As part of the countermeasures to smash the continued frenzy of war provocations of the enemy, our army launched to the east sea the super-large multiple launch rocket systems, five tactical ballistic missiles of different kinds and 46 long-range missiles of multiple launch rocket system,” said the statement.

“On the third day, a large-scale general sortie operation of the air force was conducted for three hours and 47 minutes with the mobilization of 500 fighters of different kinds in order to show our will against the joint air drill of the enemy.

"On the fourth day, we launched again two tactical ballistic missiles loaded with warheads for dispersion and two missiles of multiple launch rocket system at an uninhabited island," it added.

US, South Korea, Japan slam North’s missile launches

Meanwhile, senior diplomats of the US, South Korea, and Japan condemned North Korea's recent missile launches and called it “a serious threat” to the security of the Korean Peninsula and beyond.

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong spoke with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, and discussed the security situation in the region, Yonhap News Agency reported citing the South Korean Foreign Ministry’s statement.

The senior diplomats said the recent ballistic missile launches by North Korea were not only a violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions but also posed a serious threat to the peace and stability of the peninsula

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen further following recent military drills by South Korea, and the US as well as North Korean missile tests

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid