North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his rocket forces were ready “to settle accounts with the US” in response to the announcement that nuclear-capable US B-2 bombers had joined military drills with South Korea.
Kim’s comments, made in a meeting with his senior generals, are part of a rising tide of threats meant to highlight anger over the military drills and recent United Nations sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear test.
North Korea sees US nuclear firepower as a direct threat to its existence and claims the annual military drills are a preparation for invasion.
Pyongyang also uses the US nuclear arsenal as a justification for its own push for nuclear-tipped missiles that can strike the United States a goal that experts believe to be years away, despite a nuclear test last month and a long-range rocket launch in December.
A full-blown North Korean attack is unlikely, though there are fears of a more localised conflict such as a naval skirmish in disputed Yellow Sea waters. Such naval clashes have happened three times since 1999.
North Korea’s threats are seen by outside analysts as efforts to provoke South Korea to soften its policies and to win direct talks with Washington that could result in aid.
Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the decision to send B-2 bombers to join the military drills was part of normal exercises and not intended to provoke North Korea.
He acknowledged, however, that North Korea’s belligerent tones and actions in recent weeks had ratcheted up the danger in the region “and we have to understand that reality”.