North Korean Threats Show Need for Robust Defenses
Bruce Klingner /
North Korea has responded to planned U.S.-South Korean military exercises by threatening a “retaliatory sacred war” with a “powerful nuclear deterrence.” Pyongyang’s belligerent propaganda is intended to show that the regime is not intimidated by the large-scale allied naval and air exercises scheduled to take place next week near the Korean Peninsula. Washington and Seoul announced that the military maneuvers are being taken in response North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean naval ship and will encompass 20 ships and 200 aircraft—a strong signal of the allies’ resolve to deter and defend against Pyongyang’s belligerence.
Pyongyang’s statements are worrisome but do not portend an attack on the exercise participants nor imminent hostilities. North Korea has frequently threatened war against the U.S., South Korea, and Japan; pledged to turn Seoul into a “sea of fire”; and to respond “a hundred fold” to any attack. As such, the rhetoric is consistent with previous propaganda themes, though at the higher end of bellicosity. (more…)