Shortly after the US said it was preparing to deploy an advanced missile-defense system to Guam, Pyongyang announced it had approved nuclear attack on the US. Meanwhile there are reports that North Korea is moving a mid-range missile to its east coast.
The reports by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency did not indicate whether the missile was mounted with a warhead. It’s not yet clear whether Pyongyang was planning to fire the weapon, or was just displaying it as a show of force.
the agency said citing a South Korean government source. The missile is believed to be a mid-range Musudan missile, with a reach of some 3,000 km or more.
This comes as the North Korean army says it has final approval for nuclear attack on the US. “Merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified,” said a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, according to the statement released by the state KCNA news agency.
“We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating US hostile policy toward the DPRK and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people.”
The White House has responded by urging Pyongyang to stop making threats, describing the statement as “provocative.”
“We’ve seen today’s statement by North Korea, again making unhelpful and unconstructive threats,” said National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden. “It is yet another offering in a long line of provocative statements that only serve to further isolate North Korea from the rest of the international community and undermine its goal of economic development.“
Earlier on Wednesday Pentagon said the US military prepares to deploy an advanced missile-defense system to Guam to defend American military bases in the Pacific as a “precaution ” following North Korea threats.
The DoD has announced that top defense officials approved the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, or THAAD, which includes a truck-mounted launcher, interceptor missiles, a AN/TPY-2 tracking radar and an integrated fire control system, Reuters reports.
“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.
It has been stressed that the future deployment of the system is for protecting American interests in the region and will not reach South Korea’s territory.
The Pentagon said the batteries, which according to advocates will cost up to $800 million per battery, will be deployed in the coming weeks; however, no exact date was given, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Pentagon initially considered the deployment of the first of the batteries in 2015, however, recently escalated tensions and threats from North Korea have influenced the plans, forcing the Defense Department to rethink its intentions.
The United States sees a “real and clear” danger from North Korea, given its nuclear and missile capabilities and bellicose rhetoric, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said earlier Wednesday, shortly before the Pentagon’s statement.
North Korea has recently threatened to target US and South Korea following new UN sanctions and joint military drills by the two allies.
Guam has become the most important US military base in Asia, housing its major airfield and an incoming contingent of US Marines.
Seoul-based correspondent Joseph Kim says the US pursues its own interests when getting more involved in the conflict. It “continuously monitor[s] and gain[s] more influence in the region.”
“They are technically trying to get back to East Asia to be able to counter China and its growing power in terms of the economy. And why not use North Korea?” Kim told RT.
Gregory Elich, a member of think tank for the advisory board at the Korea Policy Institute, told RT the United States is interested in the collapse of the North, as the US “can establish their military bases right on the border with China, meaning an encirclement of that nation.” He also added that America never “never tolerated a country that won’t put its economy at the service of foreign corporations.”
As for the means the US chooses to achieve its ends, there are questions remaining as to the efficacy. Investigative journalist Tim Shorrock believes that North Korea’s actions are being misconstrued and that the American response to them is unbalanced and achieves the opposite result: “North Korea does not want to commit suicide. I believe [it] is doing all this so it can get to a point where it can negotiate some kind of peace agreement with the United States”, he said.
“They look up and they see these B-2 bombers and that’s an absolute reminder of danger of war with the United States, but it also gives the monolithic authoritarian state the [opportunity] to show to the North Korean people that indeed there is a threat. So, by escalating it to this point, the United States is playing right into Kim Jong-un’s hands.”
Anti-war activist Eugene Puryear from the ANSWER coalition believes that a peaceful solution to the crisis is possible but blames the United States for hampering it.
“What people need to understand is that the North Korean government – the DPRK – has consistently put forward four basic principles to the United States in negotiations. One is to sign a peace treaty to end the Korean war – most people don’t realize this, at least in the United States, after the war ended in 1953 the United States has refused to sign any sort of peace treaty, they’ve only signed an armistice,” he explained to RT.
“North Korea has consistently asked for a peace treaty, with the de-militarization of the peninsula, and bilateral talks with the United States to reduce tensions. So, I think if the United States would put down their weapons, sign a peace treaty, and let North Korea know that they were not aiming to overthrow their regime, as they have consistently hinted towards, then they would be able to back out of this crisis in a very peaceful way.
Source: rt.com