North Korea warns of nuclear attack if provoked with nukes

ANKARA

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again warned that his country "will not hesitate" to launch a nuclear attack if an "enemy" provokes it with nukes, state-run media reported on Thursday.

Kim made remarks during his meeting with the soldiers of the Second Red Flag Company under the General Missile Bureau, who participated in the launching of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasongpho-18 on Monday, Korean Central News Agency reported.

He called the recent successful launch of ICBM a clear message of the offensive counteraction mode and told the soldiers that the launch is a good example of the evolution of the country’s nuclear strategy and the “doctrine of the DPRK not to hesitate even a nuclear attack when the enemy provoke it with nukes.”

DPRK stands for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

The North Korean leader claimed that the ICBM launch has "shocked" the US, accusing Washington of the current tension in the region.

Meanwhile, top diplomats of the US, South Korea, and Japan condemned North Korea over back-to-back missile launches this week and urged Pyongyang to stop further "provocations."

In a joint statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, and their Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa called the missile launches a "grave threat to the region."

Pyongyang's "continued provocations pose a grave threat to the Korean Peninsula, the region, and international peace and security while undermining the global non-proliferation regime," Seoul-based Yonhap News quoted the top diplomats as having said.

North Korea has conducted five ICBM launches this year.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid